WWE Lands Contract for SmackDown on USA Network in 2024, NBC to Air 4 Primetime Shows

WWE announced Thursday that it has reached a five-year agreement with NBCUniversal for Friday Night SmackDown to air on USA Network, beginning in October 2024.

In a press release (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), WWE noted that it will also produce four yearly primetime specials that will air on NBC beginning during the 2024-25 broadcast season.

The deal will end SmackDown's run on Fox, which began in 2019. Before that, SmackDown aired on NBCUniversal channel SyFy from 2010 to 2015 and USA Network from 2016 to 2019.

WWE president Nick Khan expressed excitement over SmackDown's impending move to USA Network, saying:

"NBCUniversal has been a tremendous partner of WWE for decades. 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."

USA Network was the original home of Monday Night Raw from 1993 to 2000. Raw returned to USA in 2005 after a stint on TNN/Spike TV, and it has aired on USA Network ever since.

Also, USA Network has aired NXT since 2019, but big changes reportedly could be on the horizon for both Raw and and NXT.

According to Alex Weprin of The Hollywood Reporter, the expectation is that Raw and NXT will cease airing on USA once SmackDown arrives next year.

A source with knowledge of the negotiations told Weprin that WWE is shopping the rights to Raw in particular, and there is an "extremely active" market of interested parties, including television networks, streaming platforms and "unexpected players."

In addition to WWE's longstanding partnership with NBCUniversal relative to Monday Night Raw, NBC's Peacock streaming service has been the home to WWE premium live events and other content since 2021.

WWE and NBC first began working together way back in 1985 with the creation of Saturday Night's Main Event.

From 1985 through 1991, 29 episodes of Saturday Night's Main Event aired on NBC, garnering WWE some of its biggest ratings of all time. Five spinoff specials called The Main Event aired on NBC from 1988 to 1991 as well.

The Feb. 5, 1988, episode of The Main Event that saw Andre the Giant controversially beat Hulk Hogan for the WWE Championship remains the most-watched wrestling show ever with a 15.2 Nielsen rating and 33 million viewers.

WWE and NBC revived Saturday Night's Main Event in 2006 and aired five more specials through 2008.

The current deal between WWE and Fox for SmackDown is worth $1 billion, and Joe Flint of the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the new contract with NBCUniversal is expected to feature a significant bump up to $1.4 billion.

Given Raw's longevity and history of success, it could land WWE a similar contract once the dust settles on the bidding war.

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