In a groundbreaking move, WWE recently announced a significant merger with the UFC, an agreement that has the potential to reshape the landscape of sports entertainment. With TKO Group Holdings now at the helm, the company is poised for an exciting transformation, possibly prompting fans to adjust their viewing preferences accordingly.
During TKO Group Holdings’ 3rd quarter 2023 earnings call, the prospect of hosting collaborative super weekend events with the UFC was raised. Notably, there was an intriguing discussion concerning WWE’s potential involvement in these highly anticipated weekends.
In a recent segment on Wrestling Observer Radio, industry expert Dave Meltzer delved into the specifics of NXT’s recent partnership with The CW. The discussion unveiled that WWE is contemplating a significant overhaul of NXT’s weekly presentation, a move directly linked to the new television deal.
During the discussion, it was revealed that the proposed concept under consideration entails a schedule that would feature WWE events on Friday and Monday, with the UFC hosting their events on Saturdays. However, this raised an interesting question regarding the scheduling of SmackDown, as WWE has currently been airing pay-per-view events on Fridays. As a result, adjustments to the scheduling may be required to accommodate the proposed plan. Meltzer’s insights from the conference call emphasized the potential intricacies and implications associated with the collaborative approach, shedding light on the complexities of coordinating major events across the WWE and UFC platforms.
The concept they said they’re looking at was WWE on Friday, UFC on Saturday, and WWE on Monday for the package. Now, does that mean that the WWE pay-per-view will be on a Friday and UFC is on a Saturday? Because, if that’s what that means, that means that SmackDown will not be on a Friday, because they’re doing pay-per-views on Fridays. So, I mean, that’s something that they said. I don’t think that they meant, I mean if they’re going to get big site fees, they’re not going to want TV tapings, they’re gonna want pay-per-views out of that. That was an interesting, one thing I noted from the conference call.
they were talking about Fridays, but they were talking about big shows to be brought in, so the big thing they were talking about was a pay-per-view in the same location from two companies.”
Dave Meltzer highlighted a significant scheduling development in the world of sports entertainment. According to Meltzer, the long-running show SmackDown is set to undergo a notable shift as it prepares to be broadcast live on the West Coast for the first time in its history. While the specific day of the new broadcast has yet to be disclosed, this development marks a significant departure from the show’s previous scheduling patterns.
Traditionally, SmackDown has been scheduled for airing on both Tuesday and Thursday nights, but this upcoming change represents a potentially pivotal transition for the popular program. Meltzer emphasized that the show is expected to air from 5 to 7 PM on the West Coast, heralding a significant expansion of its reach and viewership in that region. While the precise broadcast day, whether Friday night or another evening, has yet to be officially confirmed, the anticipation surrounding this scheduling adjustment has generated considerable buzz within the wrestling community.
“One of the things that they did get, which is also going to be interesting, is that SmackDown will be live on the West Coast for the first time, I think, ever. I don’t think it’s ever been live on the West Coast. So it’s going to be airing from 5 to 7 on the West Coast. Whether it’s Friday night or another night remains to be seen.”
