Details on Why WWE Split Raw & Smackdown Deals, Negotiations With ESPN & More

– A new report has details on how WWE negotiated their new deals for Raw to continue on USA Today and Smackdown on FOX for substantial income increases. According to Sports Business Daily, WWE made the call to split the two brands as part of their negotiations with NBC Universal, which is what led the rights to the shows to end up with two separate companies.

The outlet reports that WWE hired CAA to represent them in their TV negotiations last year after FOX Sports President Eric Shanks expressed the concern about having to negotiate two properties — namely UFC and WWE — with Ari Emanuel of WME-IMG. WME-IMG is the owner of UFC and was working on negotiating a new UFC TV deal. With that being the case, WWE decided to hire CEE and the decision led to some tension between Emanuel and FOX.

There was a point when ESPN was in the running for WWE and had at least four meetings with Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, Michelle Wilson and George Barrios over the last year. While there were talks, WWE ultimately passed on EPSN because with all the network’s sports deals, it was impossible for them to guarantee fifty-two weeks a year in the same timeslot for WWE programming. While the ESPN+ service was considered as an option, it was ultimately deemed to be a competitor to the WWE Network. Turner Broadcasting was also considered for a potential deal, but Time-Warner’s merger with AT&T was stalled out at the time and it prevented any deal being made.

FOX began considering WWE after UFC decided not to renew their existing deal at $200 million a year. The UFC wanted $400 million a year which was considered to be too expensive, and FOX let their exclusive negotiating window to lapse without making a formal bid. The report cites FOX’s interest in WWE’s “consistently high ratings and passionate fan base.” FOX began courting WWE, who had an informal meet-and-greet with the network although they couldn’t discuss potential deals due to their exclusive negotiating window with NBCUniversal.

At NBCUniversal, WWE was making $130 million per year for both Raw and Smackdown and contained a clause that WWE had to give the company a “take-it-or-leave-it” offer before the end of the window. WWE decided to split the brands into two entities and asked NBC for $265 million per year for Raw and $200 million per year for Smackdown. NBCUniversal’s Bonnie Hammer agreed to the Raw terms but chose to pass on Smackdown, which allowed WWE to shop the brand elsewhere. FOX agreed to a $205 deal during a meeting that Rupert Murdoch attended in New York City. The deal was negotiated in a day.

The total that WWE is getting for Raw and Smackdown combined is obviously well above the original deal the company had with NBCUniversal, which has led to the stock’s skyrocketing over the past month.