Yahoo News WWE SmackDown to move to Fridays on Fox
WWE SmackDown may have found a new home, according to new reports.
At the moment, SmackDown airs on USA Network, which is owned by parent company NBCUniversal, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, WWE is on the verge of completing a deal with Fox that will see the programme switch to that broadcaster from October 2019 as part of a new five-year deal.
Fox has seemingly nabbed the rights after NBC Universal declined its right of first refusal, in a deal that has said to be massive.
Related: WWE SmackDown Live results – 6 things we learned as London shakes up Money in the Bank 2018
Of course, this isn't set in stone just yet, as both THR and a similar report from TheWrap both stress that the deal, reported to be worth over $1 billion, isn't official right now and both Fox and WWE have declined to comment.
Still, it would be a major move for WWE, so it's safe to say fans are pretty excited by the reports:
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SmackDown will officially be moving to FOX starting in October of 2019. The show will also be returning to Friday nights. Sounds about perfect, all they need is the fist back! pic.twitter.com/ZFZBz0WslW
- Colt - Wrestling Coverage (@WWEColt) May 21, 2018
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Weekly WWE programming in prime time on one of the four major networks is beyond massive. It means Smackdown promos will run on Fox NFL Sundays. It means network level rights fees. It means validation for the product in Hollywood circles. This is HUGE.
- Andrew Goldstein (@AngeGold) May 21, 2018
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Smackdown Live will be moving to FOX. Huge deal for WWE. @darrenrovell first to report.
- WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) May 21, 2018
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Love having Smackdown Live move to FOX.
We will never have a true replication of the Monday Night Wars. But would love to see a RAW and Smackdown rivalry in that mold. https://t.co/UFs7WFhXGE- Adam Rank (@adamrank) May 21, 2018
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I still hate Fox for cancelling B99, but yeah loving the news of Smackdown going to the network
- Still an Adam Cole Guy BAYBAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (@juicypatlucey) May 21, 2018
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Smackdown moving to Fox? That's wild.
- Chris E. Hayner (@ChrisHayner) May 21, 2018
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And then, of course, there's this realisation too...
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Smackdown going to FOX
FOX might belong to Disney in the future
WWE under the Disney umbrella
You know what this means fellas
KINGDOM HEARTS IV: JOHN CENA- Wokojin (@M0k0jin) May 21, 2018
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Just saying.
The recent SmackDown featured more qualifiers for June's WWE Money in the Bank 2018 and you can find out about everything that happened right here.
We've also got a complete calendar of all upcoming WWE and NXT pay-per-views and special events, so you can keep up to speed on what's going on in the world of wrestling.
And if you want to share your thoughts on the alleged SmackDown TV move, you can get in touch at @digitalspywwe.
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