WWE SmackDown Officially Announced For Two Hours On Friday Nights On Fox Fall Lineup
Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier officially revealed the network's 2019-2020 fall schedule today. As expected, WWE SmackDown Live is scheduled to air for two hours live every Friday night from 8 p.m. – 10 p.m. ET. It will debut on Friday, October 4th.
"Today marks a new beginning for Fox Entertainment. So it is with a start-up mindset and, upon an incredible foundation of assets, that we deliver our first slate of new comedies, dramas and unscripted series," Collier said. "Alongside top creators and talent, and through innovative partnerships across the industry, we are redefining what it means to be an entertainment company, and what it means to be Fox, for 2019 and beyond."
SmackDown Live will be taking the place of the hit sitcom Last Man Standing. The show is not on the fall TV schedule, although Deadline reports that it is being held for later in the season.
More WWE programming is expected to be announced on FS1. Triple H revealed last month that a new WWE studio show will air on Tuesday nights on FS1 in the fall.
There have also been rumors of a third hour of SmackDown airing on FS1 either before or after the FOX broadcast. During their first quarter 2019 earnings call last month, WWE Co-President George Barrios said that WWE has been used to monetizing six hours of content for a long time, however now the sixth hour is being used on the Network (referring to 205 Live). He said that they will decide in the next several months how to use the sixth hour, which could mean the addition of a third hour of SmackDown.
"We've been monetizing some way, shape or form six hours of content for a long time," Barrios said. "Today, that sixth hour is primarily being used on the network and we'll figure out here over the next several months, what we think the best use of, nothing to update now."
Below is the Fox fall lineup:
Monday
8-9 p.m. – 9-1-1
9-10 p.m. – Prodigal Son *
Tuesday
8-9 p.m. – The Resident
9-10 p.m. – Empire
Wednesday
8-9 p.m. – The Masked Singer
9-10 p.m. – Not Just Me *
Thursday
7:30 – NFL football
Friday
8-10 p.m. – WWE's Smackdown Live *
Saturday
7-10:30 p.m. – Fox College football
Sunday
7-7:30 p.m. – NFL on Fox
7:30-8 p.m. – The OT / Fox encores
8-8:30 p.m. – The Simpsons
8:30 p.m. – Bless the Harts *
9-9:30 p.m. – Bob's Burgers
9:30-10 p.m. – Family Guy
* denotes a new series