Ever since it was announced that Smackdown Live is moving to the Fox Network, there have been rumors about changes to the show: That Fox wants to focus on the sports aspect, or that they’re looking for “edgier” content than what WWE does on USA. One rumor that’s continuously popped up is that Smackdown might go to three hours, like Raw, so that Fox would have as much WWE content as USA. Sure, the Fox Network has affiliates that run news at 10pm, but the rumors persisted just the same.
Today those rumors have been solidly put to rest with Fox releasing their Fall TV Schedule, as seen on Deadline. Sure enough, Smackdown has the 8pm-10pm slot on Friday nights, keeping the two-hour length it currently has. There’s still the possibility of more WWE content on Fox Sports 1 and elsewhere, but the Blue Brand itself isn’t getting stretched out to a longer runtime.
That’s good news for everyone who watched WWE, frankly, because the last thing anyone was clamoring for is another hour of television. Hopefully the pressure of moving to a new network will lead to some kind of positive change for WWE TV (which let’s be honest, has had an air of desperation lately), but avoiding the three-hour trap is a solid start.
