WWE SmackDown To Go Three Hours?

With SmackDown's ratings way down on what they were when WWE first hashed out their scarcely credible billion dollar deal to bring the programme to FOX, you can understand if buyer's remorse has began to set in across Murdoch board rooms.

So what does the company plan to do to arrest the slide after making their big Friday night migration? It's obvious: add a third hour.

Clearly, the philosophy is "if less is more, just think much more 'more' would be."

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer, whilst noting at that a stretched SmackDown is speculation at this time, confirmed that discussions had taken place amongst executives:

"The feeling is that since they have to film anyway, and 205 Live is a waste of air, maybe they'll do two hours from 8-10, and 10-11 on FS1 for another $15 million."

Though Meltzer categorically stated that "it's not like it's a done deal", he mused that the financial community "expect" the move, and that since losing UFC, FOX are desperate for new programming to fill the hole left behind.

Given the frequent grumbles over Raw's excessive runtime, it's unlikely a SmackDown third hour would be welcomed by most beyond WWE and FOX's board rooms. From the former's perspective, giving their new partners programming in an empty slot might be a way to appease a deal that has probably looked increasingly regrettable.

Raw added an extra hour back in 2012. Since then, the show's audience has gradually dwindled, with ratings hitting record lows four times last year. However, in that time, WWE has also seen its TV deals dramatically increase. In addition to the billion dollar SmackDown deal, NBC were said to have negotiated a fresh contract for Raw last year worth over three times the previous agreement.

A major part of the attraction is that third hour - and the additional ad revenue it vacuums. It's here to stay.