WWE's Projected Price For SmackDown TV Rights As High As $1.5 Billion
WWE's current TV rights deals for Raw and SmackDown come to an end in 2024. That might sound like a long way off, but the threshold for when negotiations, potentially with parties outside of the networks that currently hold those deals, has already passed. That likely means WWE is currently weighing up potential bids and maybe even hashing out the early parts of a deal with certain companies. That certainly seems to be the case with NBCU, but maybe not so much with Fox.
The Asking Price For SmackDown
Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted this week that a Wells Fargo report explained NBCU is likely to meet whatever asking price WWE has for Raw once its current deal expires. Likely because WWE and NBCU's relationship extends beyond just Raw at this point. The WWE Network currently calls the NBCU-owned Peacock home, so it and WWE's relationship ending will need more than just TV rights deals needing to be negotiated.
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Fox's hold over SmackDown might not be quite as straightforward. According to the same report, it seems unlikely Fox will be willing to meet the steep asking price WWE will demand if the network wants to keep the blue brand on its channels for the next five years. That's because WWE's stock price has risen significantly in the half a decade since the last deal was struck. A deal that cost Fox more than $1 billion, paying $205 million per year for SmackDown's TV rights.
Who Can Afford The Blue Brand?
While Fox will likely want to pay roughly the same for the next five years, Wells Fargo claims WWE's current stock price likely means the promotion will be looking for something closer to $300 million per year, so an eye-watering $1.5 billion for the full five years. While Fox is expected to pass on securing SmackDown for that price, among the conglomerates who might be willing to stump up the cash are Netflix, Amazon, and Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company for the networks that air AEW programming.
Fox's billion-dollar deal for SmackDown in 2018 was a groundbreaking one, and it's hard to fathom that deal was so long ago that WWE is set to make that money all over again for the coming five years. The rise in asking price for WWE's TV rights is further evidence that ratings don't mean nearly as much as they used to 25 years ago. That being said, SmackDown has been pulling bigger numbers than usual recently. Perfect timing for WWE as it potentially tries to get $1.5 billion for the opportunity to host the show.
