Apart from the FOX agreement, WWE also officially announced the deal with USA Network that will see Monday Night Raw stay in its home for the next five years.
“Monday Night Raw and USA Network have dominated Monday nights during a truly historic run,” says Chris McCumber, President, Entertainment Networks for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. “Our partnership with WWE is one of the strongest and most successful in the business, and together we’ll take Raw to even greater heights.”
USA Network opted to not renew the rights for Smackdown and concentrate on keeping Raw on its network, paying much, much more to keep WWE’s flagship show.
“We look forward to continuing our long-standing partnership with NBCUniversal and USA Network,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman & CEO. “Monday Night Raw has been synonymous with USA Network and we are excited about what the future holds for WWE’s flagship program.”
Raw has been on the air for 25 years and has more than 1,300 episodes in the can. It is the longest-running weekly episodic television show in U.S. primetime history.
