ESPN.com is reporting that WWE has an agreement in principle with FOX, described as a “massive” offer, to bring Smackdown Live to the network in October of 2019.
WWE representatives declined to comment on the story, while any representatives for FOX were not immediately reached at the time of the report on Monday morning.
A report last week by the Hollywood Reporter indicated NBC Universal was interested in retaining Monday Night RAW for “triple the rights fee amount”, all the while declining the option to renew Smackdown Live which airs live every Tuesday on the USA Network.
Smackdown Live has been averaging 2.59 million viewers per week in 2018 and has been part of the NBC Universal family on cable since October of 2010, airing first on the SyFy network and then moving to the USA Network in 2016.
Back in February, FOX executives attended a Smackdown Live taping in Los Angeles including on-air personality Colin Cowherd. Not long later, Cowherd hinted on air that WWE programming was “coming to a network near you.”
We will continue to follow this story as it develops.
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