WWE Rumor Mill: Fox may have the power to schedule SmackDown on any night if ratings don't improve

What's the story?

WWE and Fox recently reached a deal that would see the SmackDown Live brand air on the Fox network family of channels.

But if the ratings continue to decline, could things within the deal be altered?

Ringsidenews.com carried a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter about ratings and how they would affect a potential change of nights for the Blue Brand.

In case you didn't know...

SmackDown has aired on the USA network for the last few years.

Before that, SyFy carried the show.

It had been previously pre-taped before becoming 'SmackDown Live' when the brand split happened in 2016.

The current deal between the WWE and USA for SmackDown was set to expire next year, but WWE was able to negotiate a deal with Fox to carry SmackDown.

While it was reported that the show will move to Fridays, ratings for both Raw and SmackDown haven't been doing the best recently.

Raw has had the two lowest-rated shows in company history over the last two weeks.

The heart of the matter

The report from Ringsidenews.com mentioned that someone asked Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer about if the ratings' slump continued whether USA and/or Fox could back out of their deals with WWE.

He responded:

“I don’t know the contractual clauses but I wouldn’t expect that to happen. They’ll run them for the term and at the end of the term (five years) then they’ll make decisions. FOX could switch days and times.”

The report also noted that because of the recent struggle in ratings, it could open up the possibility to Fox and USA to switch time slots for Raw and SmackDown.

In other words, airing in prime-time slots on Mondays and Fridays for Raw and SmackDown respectively isn't necessarily a permanent decision.

What's next?

Seth Rollins might have to put Raw on his back again, and the same might be said for AJ Styles should he sign a new deal after WrestleMania.

The deal with Fox was seen to be huge because it is considered one of the four major networks along with CBS, ABC and NBC.

Although it has taken a while for Fox to reach that status, it is currently battling the other three networks for ratings on a nightly basis.

Smackdown moving to Fox was seen as a sports' move by WWE since Vince is relaunching the XFL in 2020.

Reports also suggested that Fox representatives wanted more emphasis on the actual sport rather than the often soap-operaesque storylines.

It is the end of the year, so there is still a chance for the ratings to bounce back.

The current storyline with Baron Corbin could potentially end this weekend if he loses or it could continue.

Continuing it, however, seems that it would only prolong the problem with the ratings.

Another factor in a bounce-back of ratings is the build towards the Royal Rumble and then towards WrestleMania.

There's usually a 'post Survivor Series lull' every year, so the quality of programming lacking isn't a huge surprise.

If WWE wants to be locked into its reported Monday and Friday time slots, then they'll need to up the product before the move to Fox next October.