Kemo
07-18-2019, 09:22 PM
Fox is reported to have held a meeting yesterday with their station affiliates. During the meeting, they discussed various aspects of WWE’s move to their network in the fall. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, the first episode on the network will be a special 20th Anniversary of Smackdown show.
“Fox had a meeting with its affiliates this afternoon and they talked a bunch about WWE,” said Dave Meltzer. He then noted Smackdown will be on Fox for 51 weeks of the year with it possibly moving to FS1 during the World Series. There will also be a 1-hour launch show in late September to introduce viewers to the product.
Also discussed during the July 17th meeting was the idea of putting NXT on television.
“There are negotiations to get NXT on (TV),” Meltzer continued. He noted it was likely the network would put NXT on FS1 and not Fox but this is not a done deal and rather something just being talked about.
“(Fox) wants everyone, all the stations, to promote WWE as legitimate sport; sport, not entertainment,” he continued.
It was also noted that Fox is planning a type of marketing strategy somewhat akin to the Lex Express from the 90s.
“They are doing something where I guess they are doing the Lex Express modernized,” Meltzer said on the show. “Wrestlers will be in a moving truck going to different cities, big, small, and intermediate markets to promote starting on Fox in October.”
WWE’s first Smackdown on Fox is scheduled for Friday October 4th, 2019 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
“Fox had a meeting with its affiliates this afternoon and they talked a bunch about WWE,” said Dave Meltzer. He then noted Smackdown will be on Fox for 51 weeks of the year with it possibly moving to FS1 during the World Series. There will also be a 1-hour launch show in late September to introduce viewers to the product.
Also discussed during the July 17th meeting was the idea of putting NXT on television.
“There are negotiations to get NXT on (TV),” Meltzer continued. He noted it was likely the network would put NXT on FS1 and not Fox but this is not a done deal and rather something just being talked about.
“(Fox) wants everyone, all the stations, to promote WWE as legitimate sport; sport, not entertainment,” he continued.
It was also noted that Fox is planning a type of marketing strategy somewhat akin to the Lex Express from the 90s.
“They are doing something where I guess they are doing the Lex Express modernized,” Meltzer said on the show. “Wrestlers will be in a moving truck going to different cities, big, small, and intermediate markets to promote starting on Fox in October.”
WWE’s first Smackdown on Fox is scheduled for Friday October 4th, 2019 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.