Report: Disney Interested in WWE Raw, SmackDown for FX, Not ESPN amid Fox, USA Talks

As the exclusive negotiating window for Fox and Comcast closes without a new television contract for WWE, new players are starting to emerge.

Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported Disney could feature in talks, with FX, not ESPN, being the target network for WWE programming.

Marchand notes WWE being a staple of Monday and Friday nights would be a non-starter for ESPN, which has several sports broadcasting rights that could interfere with programming. Most notably, ESPN broadcasts Monday Night Football and regularly puts on NBA games on Friday nights.

While WWE would be a boon to ESPN ratings during the NFL and NBA offseasons, there would be a significant destabilization to the wrestling schedule—making the two an odd fit.

FX, on the other hand, does not have the same scheduling conflicts and is also owned by Disney. Adding WWE would provide consistent ratings for a network that has largely been reliant on scripted programming, which can lead to ratings ebbing and flowing based on how certain shows do in the zeitgeist. WWE is 52 weeks of locked-in programming with a pretty steady fanbase.

USA Network broadcasts Raw and has been the program's home for all but five of the show's 31 years on television. Comcast also has a strong relationship with WWE thanks to its $1 billion streaming deal for Peacock, which amounted to a buyout of the WWE Network and its library of content.

Fox got into the wrestling game in 2019, and SmackDown has been a provider of stellar ratings on Friday nights—a time period when many aren't watching television.

Both contracts run through October 2024.

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