WWE did not just randomly hand fans a commercial-free first hour of SmackDown out of the kindness of their hearts. There was a very real reason behind it, and it had everything to do with avoiding a Friday night fight with the NBA Finals.
While speaking on WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select, Joey Votes revealed that WWE and USA Network made the move as protection in case the NBA Finals went to a Game 7. If the series had gone the distance, SmackDown would have been staring down a winner-take-all basketball game on the same night, and WWE clearly wanted to keep viewers from flipping the channel. Joey explained that the decision was made ahead of time, not thrown together at the last second.
“We’ve learned that WWE and the USA network put the commercial free first hour of Smackdown in place as a precautionary measure as a potential Game 7 of the NBA Finals would have gone head to head with the broadcast had the series extended the full seven games. Sources indicate the decision was made well in advance with the possibility of direct competition from a winner take all NBA Finals game serving as the primary factor behind the commercial free opening hour.”
That makes the whole thing pretty simple. WWE saw a possible ratings problem coming and tried to punch first. A Game 7 of the NBA Finals is the kind of thing that can eat up television attention fast, so taking commercials out of SmackDown’s first hour gave fans less reason to bounce. Joey then broke down WWE’s mindset, saying the company saw the potential issue and stacked the show to fight back.
“So TC the world was watching the Knicks and the Spurs. WWE saw that and said, well, if it goes the distance, it’s going to be up against us on Friday night. We don’t want that. How can we get ahead? Let’s make the first hour commercial free and will give him a WWE title match on top of it.”
TC agreed that it was a business move, and said USA Network likely wanted to get ahead of the problem too.
“And they said, well, hold on a second. Game seven, everything, all the marbles on the line. We got to do something to protect our show on Smackdown. I’m sure this was also something that came from the USA Network that they wanted to get ahead of as well.”
WWE did not stop at just killing commercials for the hour either. They also loaded up the broadcast with a WWE Title match, giving fans another reason to stay glued to SmackDown instead of checking out whatever was happening in the NBA Finals. TC said that part was just smart strategy.
“Of course. They want to have all eyes on them. So it was smart business to have not just a commercial free hour, but also to have that booked championship match in place.”
The NBA Finals never ended up creating that full Game 7 problem, but WWE still had the plan ready. That is the real story here. SmackDown’s commercial-free first hour was not some random gift to fans. It was WWE and USA Network making sure they had a weapon ready in case basketball tried to steal Friday night.
What do you think about the reason WWE made SmackDown’s first hour commercial-free? Was it a smart move to protect the show from a possible NBA Finals Game 7, or should WWE not worry about outside sports competition? Drop your thoughts in the comments and let us know what you think.
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