WWE Friday Night SmackDown is set to undergo significant transformations beyond its shift from FOX to the USA Network.
The premiere last week showcased a fresh aesthetic, featuring vibrant colors and striking graphics. They experienced an overrun, as SmackDown no longer needs to wrap up two minutes before the top of the hour for local news broadcasts on FOX, allowing for a bit more flexibility than usual.
WWE Raw is set to make a comeback as a two-hour show, a format it hasn’t embraced since 2012, beginning on October 7th. The show is currently in a transitional phase, as the move from USA Network to Netflix is not set to take effect until January. WWE has secured a new agreement with USA Network, ensuring that Raw will continue to air on the channel beyond the expiration of the original deal this month.
The USA Network has decided to transition to a two-hour format. When Raw makes its debut on Netflix. The show will once again span three hours. WrestleVotes Radio reports that SmackDown is set to expand to a three-hour format.
“Before we move off of SmackDown, our first real WrestleVotes tidbit here, as we get going on this backstage pass regarding SmackDown, is that we have learned that starting on the January 3 show 2025, Smackdown will indeed shift to three hours. The other big news here is there are rumors that once the show ends, it will be available on Netflix, which we haven’t heard elsewhere. Those are the internal talkings right now is that probably the day after Smackdown will be available on Netflix. But the real nugget here is that starting January 3, that show will be three hours.”
The news remains unconfirmed by WWE.
