Friday Night Smackdown moved to FOX back in 2019 when the two parties struck a five-year deal that will last until 2024. While Smackdown has consistently managed to maintain a decent viewership number, the deal has not been a good one for FOX.
While speaking at a Morgan Stanley investor conference on Thursday, FOX CEO Lachlan Murdoch talked about WWE. Murdoch addressed the TV rights for SmackDown as well.
Murdoch revealed that FOX and WWE have not started discussions on another media rights deal for Friday Night Smackdown. According to a quote attributed to Murdoch, he expressed his willingness to engage in discussions with WWE whenever they feel ready to do so. He also expressed the hope that if WWE is ever sold, the current management team remains in place.
Murdoch also hopes WWE’s new owner is a good partner. WWE could also lose their television deal with FOX. We will have to wait and see whether FOX will end up renewing their deal with WWE in the end.
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