They Have A Plan. FOX Unveils Ideas And Plans To Promote SmackDown Live, Including Some New Concepts.

The big boss speaks. As you probably remember, WWE is getting a major boost later this year when they move SmackDown Live over to the FOX Network. That means things are going to change in a hurry and WWE needs to be ready to make it work. At the same time, FOX itself has some ideas of their own and they let the company know about them during a meeting on Thursday.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, FOX held a meeting with its affiliates to discuss the upcoming launch of WWE on their network. While there were no major announcements made, there were several new announcements regarding the direction the company wants to take in advertising the show, as well as some of the promotional aspects for the product as a whole. Here are some highlights:

• The show will run 51 weeks a year with the only week missing due to the World Series.
• There will be a launch show in September to introduce the show and stars to the public.
• NXT may be appearing on a FOX channel at some point, likely Fox Sports 1.
• WWE will be presented as a legitimate sport with real athletes and a focus on its athletics. It will not be presented as real fights, but as an athletic presentation.
• There will be a traveling promotion that will go around the country in a concept similar to the Lex Express.
• There is a possibility that the debut episode will be a 20th Anniversary special.

The show does have a history. Check out a good look back at it:

Opinion: This all sounds great on paper, but that’s the key part: on paper. I’m not sure how much FOX is going to be able to make the masses care about wrestling, but at least they are giving it a shot. This is quite the chance for WWE and maybe they can make it work. I don’t remember the last time they’ve had a bigger chance and the fact that they’ve gotten here is very impressive.

What do you expect from the move to FOX? Will the network keep the show on the air for the full five years of the contract? 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 History Of In Your House.

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