FOX CEO Lachlan Murdoch has explained why the network did not renew their contract with WWE.
In October 2024, SmackDown will move off of FOX and on to the USA Network for at least the next 5 years. With speculation as to why the Friday Night show was not renewed, Murdoch has provided an answer.
Speaking on the FOX investors call, Murdoch confirmed that the company were not getting a high enough return on investment to warrant keeping WWE as part of their weekly line-up:
“We were not hitting the advertising numbers due to the audience of the WWE for our return on investment to be above the levels that we would accept,” Murdoch said. “But also, we didn’t attribute enough significant retransmission revenue to the WWE either.”
“So, it made sense for us to move on,” he continued. “They’ve been a great partner for many years but just quite simply, we’re very disciplined and the ROI didn’t meet our pretty disciplined parameters. So, we wish them luck and we’ve moved on from them.”
When Did WWE SmackDown Move To Fox
The agreement began in October 2019 and featured The Rock on the debut episode. The deal was heavily publicised when it was first announced as FOX would be paying WWE over $1 billion by the time the deal was up.
Quotes obtained via F4WOnline.
Featured image: WWE
