WWE Inks Five-Year Pacts with USA, FOX

Monday Night Raw will continue to air on USA Network while SmackDown Live is heading to FOX as part of two new five-year deals announced by WWE that kick off October 1, 2019.

“At FOX we are thrilled to welcome WWE to the FOX Sports family and bring SmackDown Live to broadcast television,” said Eric Shanks, president, COO and executive producer at FOX Sports. “We are huge fans and know that together FOX Sports will be the leader in live events for the foreseeable future.”

“WWE and FOX are a perfect match,” said Vince McMahon, WWE’s chairman and CEO. “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.”

SmackDown Live is the second-longest running weekly episodic cable television show in U.S. prime-time history, only behind Monday Night Raw. It currently averages about 3 million viewers on USA.

USA, meanwhile, has renewed its deal to carry Monday Night Raw as a live, weekly three-hour block. “Monday Night Raw and USA Network have dominated Monday nights during a truly historic run,” says Chris McCumber, president of entertainment networks for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. “Our partnership with WWE is one of the strongest and most successful in the business, and together we’ll take Raw to even greater heights.”

McMahon added, “Monday Night Raw has been synonymous with USA Network and we are excited about what the future holds for WWE’s flagship program.”

Monday Night Raw averages 3.6 million viewers on USA. It debuted on the channel in 1993.

WWE reports that revenues from its key content agreements will grow to $311 million in 2019 and $462 million in 2021.