Details On How Smackdown Going to USA Network Could Affect AEW’s TV Rights Deal

A new report has some details on how WWE’s new deal to bring Smackdown to USA Network could potentially affect AEW’s next TV rights deal. As reported, it was announced last month that WWE had signed a new TV rights deal for Smackdown that will see the show move to USA Network starting with the 2024/2025 season. Fightful Select has spoken with a number of people and reports that NBCUniversal was eager to get the rights to Smackdown, as it’s been viewed as WWE’s top show in terms of viewership and being “football proof” in terms of ratings.

According to contacts at Warner Bros. Discovery, the network expects NCBU/USA Network to also make a bid for the TV rights to the NBA. The NBA has been on TNT for years and should NBC Universal get the rights, it would be expected to effect the budget that could exist for new TV rights deals for Raw and WWE NXT. The NBA is expecting to get a major increase for their TV rights in 2025 and 2026.

Obviously, if WBD lost the NBA, that would also have an effect on WBD’s budget. WBD contacts have said that they are very happy with their relationship with AEW and look to have it continue. The network had anticipated everything that’s happened with AEW’s ratings, particularly in terms of Collision going up against football during the fall.

AEW and WBD had not come to terms on a new deal as of a few weeks ago that would include the AEW TV rights, PPVs, and the library. According to people at Warner Bros. Discovery, Tony Khan has a “particular value” that he believes the AEW library sits at.

Fightful Select also reported that as of this morning, those that they had spoken to in AEW didn’t know what Tony Khan’s announcement will be. There has been a lot of speculation that it might involve a possible broadcast or streaming home for AEW, though that is not confirmed and again, as noted above, such a deal hadn’t been reached as of a few weeks ago.