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What's the story
The deal between FOX and WWE could bring with it some changes, both good and bad, not just for the WWE but for other pro wrestling organizations that like to run shows over WrestleMania weekend in order to gain a bigger and better profit.
In case you didn't know...
The deal was made official earlier this year between WWE and Fox, and will commence starting on October 4th, 2019 when SmackDown Live moves from the USA Network to FOX in its debut episode on the network.
The deal is set to last through October 2024 (five years), for a total of $205 million a year annually, or a total of $1.025 billion throughout the five year life cycle. WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon was quoted in saying:
"Fox and WWE are a perfect match. Moving SmackDown Live to broadcast TV and having the ability to leverage Fox’s extensive portfolio of world-class sporting events will expand the reach of our flagship programming."
The heart of the matter
What does the deal mean beyond the fact that WWE will be airing SmackDown Live on Friday nights once again? Well, a few things to be exact according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, as quoted by Ringside News.
For starters, the production teams will be split-up starting in 2019 allow for WWE to continue their shows on RAW, SmackDown and also WWE Network special events without the need of using the entire team for all events.
This also brings some major changes for WrestleMania weekend. Most of which won't be felt until 2020, but can have dramatic effects on other wrestling companies. Due to the move for SmackDown Live to Fridays, that would mean either the Hall of Fame Ceremony or NXT TakeOver would be aired on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
What this means for companies like Ring of Honor, NJPW, Impact Wrestling and others is this. If WWE airs any of these programs on a Thursday, this would greatly impact their attendance figures and put a damper on their profits.
Surely, these promotions can do something earlier in the week and work around it, but they may not gain the same amount of profit going up against RAW and weekly NXT programming in between these bigger events from WWE.
What's next?
The deal is set to be commence on October 4th, 2019 with the beginning of SmackDown Live's move to Friday nights. As always, stay tuned to Sportskeeda for all the latest breaking news updates and stories.
