More Details on Next Potential TV Deal for Smackdown Live, NBCUniversal Re-Upping Raw and Declining Smackdown

– As previously reported, NBCUniversal is currently letting the broadcast rights for Smackdown move to the open market and retaining the broadcast rights for Raw. WWE’s current broadcast deal with NBCUniversal expires on September 30, 2019. It was also noted in Variety’s report, that frontronners for the Smackdown Live broadcast rights include FOX, Amazon, and Facebook.

The Hollywood Reporter also published an article on the potential broadcast rights shift. Per the report, Smackdown is being shopped to various networks due to NBCUniversal declining to re-up the show and opting to keep Raw instead, with the Raw deal being three times as high as its current value.

WWE declined to comment on the current ongoing negotiations. The THR report noted from sources that FOX is being “speculated as a home for Smackdown.”

In Smackdown’s favor, the show still has the sixth biggest audience among original cable TV shows, which includes news programming. WWE programming rights on the open market have also been getting premium TV deals due to its live tune-in value.

Additionally, PWInsider reports that WWE responded with a “no comment” with regards to reports of NBCUniversal keeping Raw for an alleged amount of three times more than what is currently being paid for the show and that Smackdown is going to open market.