WWE SmackDown Staying at 3 Hours with No Extra Pay from USA Network

If you were hoping WWE SmackDown would cut back to two hours anytime soon, don’t hold your breath.

On the June 16 episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer confirmed that WWE’s blue brand is staying at three hours—for now—and the kicker? USA Network isn’t paying them a dime extra for the added content.

Bryan Alvarez kicked things off by asking the obvious question that’s been circulating for weeks. “What is this story with SmackDown at 3 hours? Is this permanent?” Meltzer didn’t hesitate to respond.

“Until USA comes up [and] changes the idea,” Meltzer said, making it clear that there’s no definitive end date in sight. When Alvarez pressed further—asking if this is just how it is from now on—Meltzer doubled down.

“Yeah. Yeah. Well, it’s three—it’s three hours until they change it,” Meltzer explained. “It’s not like there’s… originally it was going to stop in June, and USA had a show that they wanted to put on from 10–11, you know, piggybacking off SmackDown. And for whatever reason, they made the call that it wasn’t worth it. And, you know, for their ratings, it’s not worth it. I think they realized that hour three is going to do triple anything they’re going to put on in that slot.”

Then came the shocker—Alvarez asked if WWE was at least securing more money for the extra hour of programming. “So clearly they must be being paid some new deal?” he asked. Meltzer shut that idea down fast.

“No,” he replied bluntly. Clearly stunned, Alvarez fired back with some sarcasm. “They’re doing this for free? I’m suffering through this for charity?”

Meltzer elaborated, offering more context on why the deal probably wasn’t renegotiated. “Well, I guess the way they signed the contract, they must have given USA the option,” he said. “Because if they were making more money on the deal, it absolutely would have been said at the investors call and we would have seen it. We would have seen the difference in the money. So obviously the money has not changed, ‘cause if it was, we’d have been told.”

So there it is—SmackDown’s third hour isn’t going anywhere, and WWE’s not making a penny more to produce it. USA Network likes the numbers, WWE keeps their original payout, and the fans are left deciding if it’s worth the time.

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