WWE and Syfy Hype “Smackdown” Moving to Thursday

On Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014, WWE will air a special live edition of “Smackdown” on the USA Network in junction with “WWE” week on the network. With added eyes on WWE’s second-most popular program, WWE and Syfy, which typically broadcasts the show, have further promoted “Smackdown” moving to Thursday nights in 2015. In four weeks, on Jan. 15, “Smackdown” will have officially moved to Thursday nights.

To begin, a press release was issued by Syfy:

“The show that averages 3.1 million viewers on Friday nights and beats all Friday primetime viewing on any cable network is moving to Thursday nights on Syfy beginning January 15th at 8pm ET. With more than 800 original episodes, SmackDown is the second longest-running weekly episodic program in U.S. television history, only behind WWE’s other flagship program, Monday Night Raw®.”

” ‘Quite simply, more young men watch television on Thursday night than on Fridays,” said Michael Engleman, Executive Vice President, Marketing, Digital and Global Brand Strategy, Syfy. “Among Men 18-49, PUTS are 15 percent higher compared to Fridays, expanding the potential audience for SmackDown. Since the majority of broadcast programming skews female, we’re also using Thursday nights to counter program.”

“WWE’s sizable and passionate fan base make SmackDown the #1 entertainment show on Syfy and the most-watched, regularly-scheduled program among key demographics on the network,” said Michelle Wilson, Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer, WWE. “We look forward to bringing the WWE audience to Thursday nights on Syfy.”

Additionally, the below advertisement, which will likely be shown through the live “Smackdown” special on Dec. 16, was released: