What Kinds Of Changes Could FOX Make To The SmackDown Live Deal?

Not so simple? Earlier this year, WWE announced the huge move of having SmackDown Live head over to the FOX Network in October 2019. This is one of the biggest moves WWE has ever managed to pull off and it’s hard to imagine how it could be anything but a positive for the company. Being on a network is far bigger than being on cable, but it turns out that things might not be so concrete.

Dave Meltzer was asked on Twitter if FOX or USA could change the terms of their deal should the ratings for Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live continue to stay as low as they have been recently. Meltzer said that while he didn’t know the specifics, the deals would be in place for the duration of their five year contracts. However, FOX could move SmackDown Live to a different night or time if they chose.

I don't know the contractual clauses but I wouldn't expect that to happen. They'll run them for the term and at the end of the term (five years) then they'll make decisions. FOX could switch days and times. https://t.co/JQYttb0AxG

— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) December 12, 2018

SmackDown live has quite a history even before moving to FOX. Here are some of the all time best moments:

Relive 1000 episodes of SmackDown history: SmackDown 1000, Oct. 16, 2018

Opinion: This one might be putting the card way before the horse as we’re still ten months before SmackDown Live moves over to FOX. The ratings and audiences are going to change several times before then as there’s a lot left to do before the move. At the moment it’s December, which isn’t the best time in the world for the ratings. You know WWE is going to go all out for FOX, and we’ll see where they go by the time they get there.

Do you think the show will be in trouble when it moves? Why is the audience so low? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his Amazon author page with 28 wrestling books. His latest book is the the Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews.

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