New Report On Why WWE Signed With FOX And Not ESPN, Why They Chose To Split Up RAW & Smackdown

A new report from Sports Business Daily is reporting WWE made the call to split RAW and Smackdown up on separate networks.

According to the report, ESPN was in contention to acquire broadcast rights to RAW and Smackdown, and met with top executives including Paul Levesque and Stephanie McMahon during the past year. One major reason WWE did not sign with ESPN was due to the network not being able to guarantee the promotion’s programming would air live without being preempted all 52 weeks of the year. It was also noted that the new ESPN+ service was also considered as an option, but that would conflict with the WWE Network.

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FOX got involved in discussions with WWE after they looked at ways to fill their schedule based on live prime time programming. WWE was touted as a viable option due to their consistently high ratings and fan base. It was stated that WWE made the call to split RAW and Smackdown and present them as different entities. NBC Universal’s Bonnie Hammer led negotiations on the network’s end, but opted to pass on Smackdown after WWE asked for ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ offers for both shows.

This was necessary due to a clause in the NBC Universal contract where WWE had to make an offer before the exclusive negotiation window ended. NBC Universal ended up passing on the offer for both shows that would have seen $265 million per year for RAW and $200 million a year for Smackdown.