• Loading stock data...
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
Tuned In returns to NYC on September 16. Hear from the biggest names in sports media. Click here to get your spot

NBC Inks WWE SmackDown Rights for Reported $1.4 Billion

  • NBC will reportedly pay $287 million annually across five years to air broadcast on USA Network.
  • The new rights fee is about 40% higher than WWE’s existing SmackDown deal with Fox.
NBC will reportedly pay $287 million annually across five years to air broadcast on USA Network.
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Broadcasts of WWE’s SmackDown will leave Fox to return to USA Network as part of a new five-year deal between WWE and NBC Universal. WWE’s “Friday Night SmackDown” will broadcast on USA Network starting in October 2024.

NBC will pay $287 million per year for the U.S. rights to SmackDown, a total value of more than $1.4 billion, according to CNBC. It is a payment roughly 40% more than WWE’s existing five-year deal it began in 2019 with Fox, in which the network pays $205 million annually.

WWE will also produce four primetime specials annually to air on NBC beginning in the 2024-25 season. The new rights deal is WWE’s first since it merged with UFC owner Endeavor and went public last week under its new parent company, TKO Group Holdings.

Shares of TKO fell more than 12% following WWE’s announcement with NBC. The USA Network previously aired SmackDown from 2016 to 2019. NBC’s Peacock streaming service signed a five-year deal in 2021 to stream WWE content, including Wrestle Mania.

After adding SmackDown, USA Network is not expected to renew its rights deals to WWE shows “Raw” and “NXT,” reports The Wall Street Journal. Fox reportedly did not aggressively seek to keep the rights to SmackDown. WWE began layoffs earlier this month that could impact over 100 positions as it restructures after merging with UFC.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

A Peacock sideline reporter holds a microphone with the NBC Peacock logo during Michigan State's football game against Washington on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.

‘Unusual’: NBCU’s Surprise Interest in a New Cable Sports Network

Its previous channel NBCSN was shuttered less than four years ago.

‘ACC Huddle’ Joins College Football’s TV Road-Show Race

This season, “ACC Huddle” will broadcast from the conference’s weekly marquee game.
exclusive

ESPN Locks in Bulk of Bill Belichick’s First UNC Season

The network’s ACC media rights deal will pay off this season.

Featured Today

2000, Jupiter, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Montreal Expos pitcher Hideki Irabu in action on the mound against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium during Spring Training

Dead Sports Franchises Are Alive and Well on Twitter

The Expos, Sonics, and Whalers have active social media accounts.
Limited Hype
July 27, 2025

Sneaker Reselling Was Once Easy Money. Success Is Now Complicated

Vendors need to evolve what they’re selling and how they do it.
HAPPY GILMORE 2. BTS - (L to R) Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore and Rory McIlroy as himself on the set of Happy Gilmore2.
July 26, 2025

‘Cool As Hell’: How ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Hooked Golf’s Top Stars

The process was “cool as hell,” Adam Sandler tells FOS.
Ryan Field Construction
exclusive
July 19, 2025

First Look Inside Northwestern’s $862 Million New Ryan Field

Five big things FOS learned on our exclusive stadium tour.

CBS Sports to Get New Owner As Skydance Merger Clears FCC Hurdle

The long-awaited, but highly debated, merger gains regulatory approval.
Jul 20, 2025; Portrush, IRL; Scottie Scheffler celebrates with the Claret Jug after winning the 153rd Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Portrush.
July 22, 2025

Scheffler Pushes The Open to Largest Audience Since 2022 at St Andrews

McIlroy’s Masters victory in April remains the highest-rated major of 2025.
Dec 7, 2024; New York, New York, USA; A general view of Times Square during the MLS Cup Times Square Watch Party prior to the game between the LA Galaxy and the New York Red Bulls.
July 24, 2025

MLS Reveals Apple TV Streaming Numbers, Raising Questions

The league gives a rare glimpse inside the high-profile streaming pact.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
WNBA
July 22, 2025

WNBA All-Star Ratings Dip From Clark High, Still 52% Over Old Record

Caitlin Clark did not play due to a groin injury.
Oct 7, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; A general view of the ESPN Monday night Football logo during the first half of the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and New Orleans Saints at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
July 21, 2025

NFL Owners Told to Prep for Potential Disney Media Deal Vote

A sale of NFL media assets could finally happen after four years.
July 17, 2025

Netflix Beats Projections Again—and Plots Big Holiday Sports Slate

The streaming giant again beats analyst projections in every respect.
July 17, 2025

ESPN Bidding Against NBC, Apple for MLB Rights Package

The league continues to negotiate with multiple media-rights bidders.