WWE SmackDown In Trouble After FOX Potentially Loses 12 Million Viewers?
Dish Network dropped FOX after a carriage dispute last night.
FOX, who are set to pay WWE over $1 billion dollars to air SmackDown over the next five years, were dealt a potentially significant viewership blow last night.
The network's channels were dropped by Dish Network/Sling TV following a carriage dispute. As such, stations like FOX (Friday Night SmackDown's home) and FS1 (which will show the newly-announced WWE Backstage show) have gone dark in major markets like New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
This means that FOX channels could potentially miss out on 12 million Dish subscribers, though one would assume that a portion of these viewers will migrate to different providers.
John Ourand of Sports Business Journal spoke to a FOX executive on the matter. "Dish/Sling is at it again, choosing to drop leading programming as a negotiating tactic regardless of the impact on its own customers," they said. "Dish/Sling elected to drop FOX networks in an effort to coerce us to agree to outrageous demands."
WWE have since issued the following statement:-
Could this impact SmackDown's rating when the show debuts in FOX next week? Potentially, yes, as the channel is now available in fewer homes, though it'd still be a big surprise if the blue brand didn't pop a big number.