May 28, 2018 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WWE making massive money for TV deals, more
WWE has come out with the best of all world’s in its television negotiations, with Raw remaining on the USA Network in its Monday 8-11:05 p.m. time slot and Smackdown moving to Friday nights from 8-10 p.m. on the FOX Network.
Both new deals go into effect in October 2019.
The five-year deal, which would go through September 30, 2024, was estimated by one insider as worth about $4 million per week, and printed reports listed it as $205 million per year (virtually the same) and the two deals combined were talked about in the $445 million to $475 million range.
The deals show the value of things like contract year and major stars.
It appears that FOX, when making the deal, was not willing to continue its previously on the table $200 million offer for UFC, since the next day reports were that UFC’s television rights were going to ESPN for $150 million in a separate deal from the ESPN+ streaming deal announced last week.
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Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.