It's crazy that their spending more money for SmackDown than UFC. I wonder if they're going to build Smackdown as the top brand now that their on the bigger network?

In addition, WWE also announced that USA Network will continue to air “Raw” for a further five years. USA had contractual first right of refusal on both shows, with the cabler choosing to focus on the more popular “Raw” brand and allow “SmackDown” to enter the marketplace.

“Raw” is currently averaging 3.6 million viewers per episode in Live+7 viewing, while “SmackDown” is averaging 2.9 million.

The announcement comes after reports surfaced last month that Fox and WWE had reached a deal to move “SmackDown” to the broadcast network. This will mark the show’s sixth network home since 1999. “SmackDown” launched on the now-defunct UPN in 1999 before moving to The CW in 2006. It then aired on Fox’s MyNetworkTV starting in 2008 and then moved to Syfy in 2010. It joined “Raw” on USA in 2016, with “SmackDown” also moving to a live format at that time.

“SmackDown” adds to burgeoning sports lineup on the so-called “New Fox” should the proposed merger between 21st Century Fox and Disney be completed. In addition to the recently signed five-year deal with the NFL to air “Thursday Night Football,” Fox is planning to split the UFC television rights with ESPN.

WWE and Fox Sports have officially closed a five-year deal that will see “SmackDown Live” air on Fox Broadcasting beginning next year.

The sports entertainment company announced Tuesday that “SmackDown Live” will debut on Fox on Friday, Oct. 19, 2019. The weekly, two-hour live show will continue to air year-round.

“WWE and Fox are a perfect match,” said Vince McMahon, WWE chairman, and CEO. “Moving ‘SmackDown Live’ to broadcast TV and having the ability to leverage Fox’s extensive portfolio of world-class sporting events will expand the reach of our flagship programming.”

I heard to SmackDown is actually going to be on FS1 to replace UFC.