FOX Lost Money From WWE SmackDown Deal

Friday Night SmackDown was ultimately a loss-maker for FOX.

SmackDown has aired on FOX in the United States since October 2019 but the show will head to USA from October 2024 in a deal worth $1.4 billion over five years. FOX have since noted they opted not to renew SmackDown as advertising revenue did not provide a return on investment they found acceptable. 

FOX are paying $205 million per year to air SmackDown and the media conglomerate has ultimately lost money from the deal. Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that he has been given data which shows FOX lost money on the deal because even though the ratings were strong, a lot of advertisers still have a negative view of wrestling and this meant ad rates were not in line with the ratings. 

As WWE wanted $307.5 million per year and eventually settled on $279 million per year in the new SmackDown media rights deal, FOX dropped any interest in a renewal. The feeling was also that SmackDown didn't help enough with retransmission fees to cover the rise.