According to the Hollywood Reporter, WWE’s pending deal with Fox to bring WWE Smackdown Live to that station is worth more than $1 billion dollars over 5 years. That is not a typo.
Fox will be the anticipated home of WWE SmackDown Live in a massive new five-year deal worth more than $1 billion, sources close to the negotiations tell The Hollywood Reporter. The new deal, which is nearing completion and is worth $205 million annually, is expected to begin in October 2019, and will mark a three-fold increase over what NBCUniversal is currently paying WWE to air SmackDown on its USA network.
The story adds that WWE received an even higher offer from another network but opted to go with Fox due to the company’s commitment to promote Smackdown Live extensively, which will reportedly move live to Friday nights. NBCUniversal is expected to retain WWE Raw which currently airs on the USA Network.
In response, WWE’s stock has skyrocketed to almost $60 per share – an all-time record – after opening the day at just over $50.
For more details on SmackDown Live moving to FOX, read our original article on the subject here at Rajah.com by clicking here.