WWE SmackDown Moving to USA Network Sooner Than Expected

SmackDown is headed back to USA Network this September.

By Haley Miller

WWE is headed back to USA Network this fall for the first time since 2019 when the blue brand originally shifted over to Fox. Originally, WWE planned to host SmackDown on the USA Network starting in October as revealed in a press release last year but that has since changed. Instead, WWE will now bring SmackDown back to USA in September alongside Raw.

NBCUniversal revealed the news in its 2024/2025 schedule which includes both WWE Raw and SmackDown. Raw will head to Netflix starting in 2025 but until then the two brands will coexist on the same network. SmackDown's return will begin the week of September 13 and it will include a week of WWE festivities. In the lead up to the big return, USA Network will air the Fast and Furious Franchise starring Dwayne Johnson, John Cena's Blockers and Peacock's Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal documentary. That will begin on Monday, September 9th and run throughout that week. Raw's move to Netflix starts in January while NXT is heading to The CW this October.

SmackDown's Move to USA Network

SmackDown has had several homes over the years including Syfy, The CW, UPN, and MyNetworkTV. As part of a new five-year rights deal that USA Network negotiated with the sports giant, a deal that also includes four primetime specials a year for NBC. Although financials weren't disclosed, Several reports indicated that USA Network spent roughly $1.4 billion in rights in total which is a 40% increase from the $1 billion that Fox previously paid. The news of SmackDown's future was revealed shortly after the WWE and UFC merger was finalized last September. The brands formed the sports-entertainment giant known as TKO.

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"NBCUniversal has been a tremendous partner of WWE for decades," WWE President Nick Khan said in a statement last September. "We are excited to extend this longstanding relationship by bringing SmackDown to USA Network on Friday nights and look forward to debuting multiple WWE special events annually on NBC."

Added NBCUniversal Entertainment Chairman Frances Berwick, "It's a privilege and thrill to continue NBCU's decades-long partnership with WWE, which has helped cement USA Network's consistent position as the top-rated cable entertainment network in live viewership. With Friday nights on USA, primetime specials on NBC, and the WWE hub on Peacock, we'll continue to use the power of our portfolio to super- serve this passionate fanbase."

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