21st Century Fox executive says Smackdown Live will be “really unique opportunity for us”

Smackdown Live

The Wrap is featuring comments by 21st Century Fox Executive VP and CFO, John Nallen, following the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference on Thursday.

Nallen spoke at length about the new deal between FOX and WWE to bring the Smackdown Live television franchise to the broadcast network next October.

He addressed how unique WWE programming will be compared to traditional sports.

“It’s a 50 to 52-week-a-year sport with no repeats. It’s a new novella every week. For us to have that kind of appointment programming, that audience, every week of the year, is a really unique opportunity for us.”

The deal, estimated to be nearly $1 billion for five years, starts October 4 in 2019. It will be part of a big push for FOX including the addition of “Thursday Night Football” this year.

Nallen noted it was important for them to “lock up a Friday night” for WWE programming, calling it a huge benefit for the network and programming going forward.

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