Speaking to Variety, USA Network President Chris McCumber said that WWE is such an iconic American brand that it feels “thematically right” to have the company’s two biggest shows on their network.
“Having more live programing is a good thing for this network. Having Smackdown and doubling down on WWE is important to us,” he said.
Mentioning the addition of NHL playoff games to USA, McCumber said that just like NHL fans, WWE fans are very passionate and live sports (and entertainment in this case) helps increase the reach of the network.
“Right now one of the most important things to do in media is to find passionate niches of fans, whether it’s in sports or original programing, and program and market to them. The NHL and WWE have some of the most passionate fan bases out there. It really grows the whole pie for us.”
WWE Raw has been an integral part of USA Network since 1993. It remained there till 2000 and then the company went back in 2005 after leaving Spike TV.
