WWE SmackDown reportedly remaining at three hours for ‘foreseeable future’
Three-hour WWE SmackDowns on Fridays aren’t going away anytime soon according to a new report from WrestleVotes.
The outlet reported Thursday that for the “foreseeable future,” SmackDown will remain at three hours in a change from their previous plan as USA (NBCUniversal) is satisfied with the performance in the third hour.
The two sides reportedly had agreed to a final three-hour runtime on Friday, May 30th but plans changed. WrestleVotes noted it’s a fluid discussion about the length of the show and that a return to two hours could take place as early as this fall.
As recently as early-May, Paul “Triple H” Levesque had said the three-hour format was only temporary. That followed a January Pat McAfee appearance where Levesque said the same thing.
For the first time since 2019, the blue brand returned to USA last September as part of a five-year deal worth $1.4 billion in total that includes four Saturday Night’s Main Event specials on NBC and Peacock per year.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.