WWE CFO George Barrios spoke earlier today at the UBS Annual Global Media and Communications Conference discussing WWE’s television rights and the WWE Network.
Barrios said that if WWE leaves the USA Network, the channel would go immediately from No. 1 in prime time to No. 4 or No. 5. He added that any top 50 network would be able to pick up RAW or Smackdown and easily help them place in the top 10.
Regarding the WWE Network, he claimed they could still possibly provide it on television despite an internet-only option seeming to be the strongest at this point. Barrios said doing the network on the internet wasn’t viable a year ago, but viewer habits have changed.
Barrios stated that they are hopeful of signing new television contracts for both RAW and Smackdown by the end of April 2014 if all goes as planned.