WWE To Net $2.3 Billion For Raw And SmackDown
More details emerge on Fox mega-deal.
Fox will pay WWE $1.025 billion for SmackDown broadcasting rights over the next five years, according to Hollywood Reporter.
The two parties announced last week that a deal had been struck for the Tuesday night show, which is leaving NBCUniversal's USA, its home for the last two years, in October 2019.
Rupert Murdoch's pursuit of SmackDown is said to form part of a wider strategy to make Fox the go-to network for live sporting events. The media mogul was reportedly present at negotiations with Stephanie McMahon and Triple H in Manhattan on 17 May, promising that he would air adverts for the show "every night of the week".
He was, however, unable to convince his new business partners to make a similar deal for Monday Night Raw, which will remain on USA for the foreseeable future.
It is claimed that the new agreement for the flagship show is worth $265 million per annum, giving WWE a total television revenue of more than $2.3 billion between 2019 and 2024. Given that the previous deals, both with NBCUniversal, were said to be for a combined $130 billion annually, that's a pretty significant increase.