FOX spent billions of dollars to bring
SmackDown Live to the network but with WWE's ratings continuing to fall, there's been some speculation that they're beginning to have buyer's remorse. However, during the Television Critics Association press tour, Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier was asked what happens if the show fails to bring in viewers and seems confident that won't be an issue.
"I'm a guy that came out of cable," he said, mostly deflecting the question. "And for the last few decades in cable, what's driven the No. 1 network has been wrestling. And so for us to have a consistent presence is thrilling."
"In terms of protections – this is a company that historically really leaned into NFL at a time where I think no one thought Fox could do so, and they've turned out to become the leading purveyor of the NFL," Collier continued. "And we're leaning into WWE with just as much enthusiasm." As non-answers go, that's a pretty good one!
WWE is guaranteed to get a larger number of viewers by being on network television but they will have to work hard in order to keep them. It's previously been reported that if SmackDown Live does fail to deliver, it will be moved to FS1 instead. That would not be good for WWE so it will be interesting seeing how things pan out moving forward.