As many had expected, WWE SmackDown will have a longer runtime beginning in 2025.
Ever since its launch in 1999, SmackDown has been a 2-hour show. However, shortly after the show moved to the USA Network earlier in the year as part of the new media rights deal, there were rumblings that the Friday night show may expand to 3 hours for the first time ever, especially as the USA Network had lost the 3-hour Raw to Netflix. The rumours were met with a mixed response from fans. While on the one hand, there is the opportunity to tell more stories and give matches more runtime, others believe that there is enough WWE action each week and an extra hour is unnecessary. As part of a recent update, the extra hour is official.
As part of an article on WWE.com hyping up the 3 flagship shows for the new year, it was confirmed that the first SmackDown of 2025 will be 3 hours long and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future:
SmackDown continues to air on USA Network every Friday night at 8/7 C in the U.S. At the start of 2025, SmackDown will expand to three hours starting with the Jan. 3 episode from Phoenix, Arizona.
With Raw, NXT and SmackDown airing each week, this means that WWE will be producing 8 hours of original content each week.
Upcoming WWE SmackDown To Air On YouTube
January 2025 will see a new era begin for WWE as Raw will be broadcast on Netflix worldwide. While viewers in the United States will just get Raw as part of their subscription, international viewers will also get SmackDown, NXT and Premium Live Events, replacing the WWE Network in the process. With there being a gap in media rights, it was previously reported that the January 3rd SmackDown will air on YouTube, much in the same way that UK viewers were able to watch Saturday Night’s Main Event on the platform.
The most recent episode of WWE SmackDown took place on December 20th, which was taped in advance.
Featured image: WWE
