FOX CEO Says WWE SmackDown Is On Friday Nights "Short Term"
It's now confirmed by a network executive that WWE SmackDown will air live when it moves to Fox on Friday, October 9. However, it sounds like Friday nights may not be a permanent timeslot for the blue brand.
Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier spoke about SmackDown during the Fox executive session at the Television Critics Association press tour this week. He confirmed that SmackDown will air live, which we had reported previously.
"It's live, and what's remarkable [is] these are people that know their audience," said Collier, who admitted he is a longtime pro wrestling fan. "They're great storytellers and I think it fits beautifully with what we're doing."
Gamespot's Chris Hayner covered the speech and revealed on Twitter that Collier said WWE is on Friday nights for the "short term," indicating that it could be moved to another night. Hayner tweeted: "'Short term, Friday night is going to WWE,' Collier says when asked about Last Man Standing. That show could go elsewhere. But WWE being 'short term' Fridays tells me they may move it around."
It was also confirmed that more WWE content is planned for the new partnership with Fox as they look to treat wrestling more as a sport than a weekly, episode TV series.
"The Fox sports networks, FS1, and others, will have some other wrestling–not live Smackdown, not Raw, but other ties to the WWE world," Collier revealed.
There's no word yet on what kind if content they have planned but it was speculated that we will see recap shows and "talking head series" on FS1.
"Short term, Friday night is going to WWE," Collier says when asked about Last Man Standing. That show could go elsewhere. But WWE being "short term" Fridays tells me they may move it around. #TCA19
? Chris E. Hayner (@ChrisHayner) February 6, 2019