WWE is not expecting to be affected by the closure of NBC Sports Network at the end of the year and major sports programming – such as NASCAR, NHL, and golf – moving to USA Network and Peacock.
There were rumors that NXT might be a casualty on Wednesday nights once the sports currently airing on NBCSN moves to USA, particularly NHL which also plays on Wednesday nights. The NHL gets more viewership than NXT and advertising rates during NHL games go for far more money as well.
“We believe it has no impact on us,” WWE President Nick Khan said this week. “We think what you’re seeing in the cable universe is going to be further consolidation. So we know that the bundle has now sort of been unbundled or a little exposed. So the networks that were propped up, and not as strong cable networks that were propped up by the stronger cable networks, like USA, but not as strong ones probably cease to exist across the board. So look for more content migration onto the stronger cable platforms and that there’ll be no effect on Raw or NXT.”
Khan also revealed that WWE has signed on to produce a multi-episode unscripted series created by and voiced by John Cena, which will air on an NBCUniversal channel and also closed a deal for WWE Studios to join the NBC show Young Rock.
Nick Khan’s sister, Nahnatchka Khan, is a writer and executive producer on Young Rock, a show which premieres on Tuesday, February 16, on NBC.
