WWE issued the following press release today, confirming long-standing rumors that Smackdown on Syfy will be moving from Friday nights to Thursday nights beginning on January 15, 2015:
SMACKDOWN® MOVES TO THURSDAY NIGHT ON SYFY
BEGINNING JANUARY 15 AT 8PM
NEW YORK – November 6, 2014 – The show that averages 3.1 million viewers on Friday nights and beats all Friday primetime viewing on any cable network is moving to Thursday nights on Syfy beginning January 15th at 8pm ET. With nearly 800 original episodes, SmackDown is the second longest-running weekly episodic program in U.S. television history, only behind WWE’s other flagship program, Monday Night Raw®.
“Quite simply, more young men watch television on Thursday night than on Fridays,” said Michael Engleman, Executive Vice President, Marketing, Digital and Global Brand Strategy, Syfy. “Among Men 18-49, PUTS are 15 percent higher compared to Fridays, expanding the potential audience for SmackDown. Since the majority of broadcast programming skews female, we’re also using Thursday nights to counter program.”
“WWE’s sizable and passionate fan base make SmackDown the #1 entertainment show on Syfy and the most-watched, regularly-scheduled program among key demographics on the network,” said Michelle Wilson, Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer, WWE. “We look forward to bringing the WWE audience to Thursday nights on Syfy.”
Over the past 15 years, SmackDown has been broadcast from 170 different venues, in 148 cities and towns, in seven different countries including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Iraq, Japan, Italy and Mexico. The name SmackDown came from WWE Superstar Dwayne “The Rock®” Johnson’s popular catchphrase, “Lay the Smackdown®.”