ESPN‘s Darren Rovell is reporting that WWE has agreed in principle with Fox and the network will be the new home of SmackDown Live.
The report states that sources have told ESPN that the deal between FOX and WWE for the rights to air SmackDown LIVE is said to be “massive”.
It was reported last week that NBC Universal had agreed on a deal that would retain the rights for WWE’s Monday Night RAW to remain on the USA Network. However, the deal between NBC Universal and WWE for RAW was said to be 3 times the value of the previous deal, putting it somewhere around $240 million. Because of this, the network chose to pass on SmackDown officially letting it go to open bid.
It had been originally reported that FOX was a strong candidate to land SmackDown, but reports began to surface which suggested that the network may be interested in SmackDown by itself. It now appears as though those reports were incorrect. As today FOX and WWE agreed to a deal that will see WWE’s blue brand, SmackDown LIVE move to FOX.
Currently no specific terms of the deal are known other than it will begin in October of 2019, as that is when the current deals are set to expire. According to ESPN a representative for WWE declined to comment on the news of the deal, and that a Fox spokesperson could not immediately be reached.
We will keep you updated as more information on the new deal between FOX and WWE for SmackDown Live becomes known.
You can see Rovell’s tweet announcing the deal between FOX and WWE below:
BREAKING: WWE’s SmackDown Live is coming to Fox, after network agreed in principle to a “massive deal.” https://t.co/h4C7lf9JHT
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) May 21, 2018
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