Report: NBC expected to pay big for WWE Raw, lets SmackDown go out for open bidding

Raw and SmackDown Live

According to a new report from the Hollywood Reporter, come this fall WWE’s Flagship show Monday Night Raw will most likely remain on the USA Network at what is said to be paid to WWE by NBCUniversal at three times its current value.  However, this same report indicates that NBCUniversal did not choose to renew SmackDown Live which now allows WWE to shop the blue brand around to other networks for a new home, which is said to be Fox which has shown high interest in WWE Programming.

In 2010, NBCUniversal won the rights to SmackDown. The show began airing that same year on the Syfy Channel, eventually moving to the USA Network in January 2016, and then moved to from the Thursday night taped format to a live show on Tuesday nights in May of that same year.

WWE’s current deal with NBCUniversal expires on September 30, 2019. Both sides declined to comment further as negotiations are still ongoing.

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