The WWE heads back to The CW with NXT
Five-year deal comes as Smackdown heads back to cable
Finally….the WWE has come back to The CW!
But it’s not the show you think.
World Wrestling Entertainment announced Tuesday afternoon its NXT franchise, which showcases up-and-coming wrestling talent, is moving to The CW next fall after a long run at NBCUniversal’s USA Network, who’ll regain Smackdown this fall after five years on Fox.
“We are thrilled to welcome the WWE brand into the CW Sports portfolio as they play an integral role in our mission to bring live sporting events to the network year-round,” said CW President Dennis Miller. “WWE NXT is a perfect fit for The CW thanks to its dynamic young talent featuring the hottest rising stars in the sport and exhilarating, unpredictable weekly events. The passion and engagement of WWE’s fanbase is unmatched, and we are eager to grow that audience as WWE NXT’s new home on broadcast television.”
This marks a return of WWE programming to The CW after sixteen years. A former UPN property, Smackdown moved to The CW in 2006 as the network and The WB merged. Despite solid ratings, The CW dropped Smackdown in 2008 as the network was shifting its focus to teen/young adult dramas and superhero shows, who drew a large female audience and wasn’t compatible with the direction of the network at the time. After Nexstar took over The CW earlier this year from Paramount and Warner Bros., the network is moving away from such fare, adding ACC sports, LIV Golf, and NASCAR Xfinity races.
Interestingly enough, one of the reasons why Fox declined to renew Smackdown after five years is because according to a network exec, the show wasn’t hitting advertising revenue targets despite decent ratings – the same reason why The CW canceled the show in 2008. Smackdown moved to MyNetworkTV (owned by Fox) that September and moved to cable’s SyFy in 2010 and later USA, then Fox in 2019.
Created by Paul Levesque (yes, the person who wrestled as Triple H) and now Chief Content Officer of the WWE, NXT debuted in 2012 and has done well in its Tuesday time slot on USA, topping cable ratings in its time period last quarter among adults 18-34 and adults 18-49 with the latter demo is up 30 percent year-to-year.
No word on what night NXT would air on The CW, but Tuesday is a good bet and would likely retain its two-hour runtime. As for where NXT airs in Chicago by then is a matter of question as the future of the network here is up in the air WGN could gain the affiliation back from WCIU as the station and The CW are now corporate siblings. And apparently, the affiliation situation in Detroit is also now up in the air.