USA Network President Comments on Adding “Smackdown”

As previously reported, USA Network, which is the home to “Monday Night Raw,” will begin airing WWE’s other flagship program, “Smackdown” in the beginning of 2016. When the move is put in motion, WWE is expected to put a bigger emphasis on its second most watched program. There is also the possibility that the company chooses to air “Smackdown” live on a regular, or more frequent basis.

Variety recently caught up with USA Network President Chris McCumber to discuss the network’s shift in brand. Within the interview, WWE and “Smackdown” came up on a couple occasions.

McCumber talked about the importance of live programming, and how it was important for the network to double down on WWE:

“WWE is such an iconic American brand, it feels thematically right to have their two biggest properties on USA Network. Having more live programing is a good thing for this network. Having “SmackDown” and doubling down on WWE is important to us. Partnering with NBC Sports Group to bring Stanley Cup playoff hockey to USA is important move for us. You’ll likely see over the next year more announcements about live sports on USA.”

Continuing, he hit on the impressive WWE fan base, which has been a huge help to the network:

“[Live sports] helps increase the reach of the network. You have a brand-new audience coming to you and one that is a very passionate audience. Right now one of the most important things to do in media is to find passionate niches of fans, whether it’s in sports or original programing, and program and market to them. The NHL and WWE have some of the most passionate fan bases out there. It really grows the whole pie for us.”

Be sure to check out the interview in its entirety, here.

Editor’s Note

Following the announcement of “Smackdown” coming to the USA Network, there have been a couple hints that it may air live. That could be something to keep an eye out for.