According to Variety, WWE is still looking to significantly increase the $139.5 million in TV licensing fees that they earn in a year. The trade reports that WWE would consider a major change to their programming to make this possible, taking Smackdown live…

WWE is considering a live version of its two-hour "SmackDown," which currently is taped on Tuesday before its Friday airing. To do that, costs to produce the series would increase, due to scheduling, and the show would likely need to move to a new night. But WWE would be willing to make the switch in return for a better fee for the series.
Read more at http://www.411mania.com/wrestling/news/307205/WWE-May-Make-Smackdown-a-Live-Show-on-a-New-Night-For-Possible-TV-Rights-Fees-Increase.htm#Pv164sb6EBgcC4Gq.99

But- But I like getting Smackdown early before the Americans!!

They should test it out though. For a bit.

 

Pointless without a brand split...

, but I suspect a brand split will be re-instated if this happens. Guessing that's the payoff to the current storyline. After WM, the brands re-split, with actual splits.

Ohhh that'd be sweet.

I suppose a brand split might benefit some of the lower card guys. Like, say you had Punk and Cena on RAW, but Orton and Bryan on Smackdown. You can't just have them fighting for the title against each other all the time, so they'd have to push someone like Ziggler, or Ryback, or (plz no) Del Rio.

The one problem I'd have with a brand split is that I really like the idea of having one main champion in a company, but maybe if they kept the two brands apart as much as possible, they could manage to make both titles seem important to that brand. Then the only time I'd have the two brands ever meet is for the draft lottery show, and maybe for a once-a-year PPV like Bragging Rights, where the two brands have a kind of battle against each other - with the main event being RAW's champ vs. Smackdown's champ.

I think WWE should stay away from the brand split as it was used for a long ass time, albeit poorly, and is stale at this point.

If they actually used Smackdown in a way that contributes plots to storylines significantly, then it would be good to watch live, but the way it's been for years is running off the same script. But watching wrestling live is always better than taped regardless.

They dont have a large enough roster anymore for a brand split