This week marked the first episode of a new era for Smackdown. The show is still taped on Tuesday nights, but it airs on Thursdays in the United States now. It's a smart move by WWE because more people watch television on Thursdays. For Syfy, it's going to get them more people watching their network just. It's win-win for everybody really. What's interesting about the move is that the show airs on different days in different markets. All WWE marketing is about the US because that's where most of their fans are. However, Smackdown airs in Canada (where I live) on Wednesdays because of a contract that Sportsnet 360 has with the NHL to show hockey on Thursdays. In the UK & Ireland, Smackdown's still on Fridays because of the deal WWE has with Sky. The hope for us as fans is that WWE will make Smackdown more of a priority. This week's show was advertised more than normal because they heavily promoted Daniel Bryan's first match in eight months against his former tag team partner Kane. Some fans wondered why his return match wasn't on Raw instead. It's because WWE wanted more attention on Smackdown. WWE needs to continue to advertise matches for Smackdown. It makes good business sense to give fans a reason to tune in. Hopefully WWE realizes that and makes Smackdown more of a must see show. This will be a regular weekly feature column from me on Fridays (after the US airing) as I take a look at the four ups and downs from Smackdown. It begins with the downs.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
