Next Week’s SmackDown Not Airing On FOX

It comes with the territory. Last year, WWE moved SmackDown over to FOX in the biggest move their television shows have ever seen. Suddenly SmackDown was available on broadcast television instead of cable and that is the kind of thing you don’t get to happen overnight. The show has become a bigger deal as a result and that is a great thing. The move has a few drawbacks though and one of those will be taking place next week.

One of the biggest appeals for WWE on FOX is being associated with other major sporting events. FOX airs Major League Baseball, the NFL, the NCAA and various other sports. The network is the kind of place that can offer a lot of mainstream sports and now WWE is part of that group. However, one downside is that WWE is fairly low on the FOX totem pole, which will be on display soon.

As announced during this week’s SmackDown, the October 23 edition will be airing on FOX Sports 1 due to coverage of the World Series. This was known in advance as the World Series takes priority over WWE programming. The show will be back in its normal time slot for the October 30 show. WWE is forced to change its schedule a handful of times a year due to FOX programming and will also be off on Christmas night.

SmackDown has been a big deal as of late. Check out what they have been doing:

Opinion: This is hardly a surprise and not something that is going to mean anything in the long term. The World Series is one of the biggest and most important sporting events of the year and there is no reason to even consider putting WWE programming above it. FOX Sports 1 is fine for a week and WWE can be back the next time with the fallout from Hell In A Cell.

Has SmackDown impressed you since the move? How long will it be on FOX? 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 30 wrestling books. Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for “GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES” to sign up. Thank you for reading!