Smackdown Gets Dumped by The CW
February 8, 2008

Can you believe that the ratings-starved The CW is cancelling anything that performs even moderately well? Trying to reinvent themselves yet again, The CW has parted ways with a staple of the network since its existence and one of the big hits that came to the net from UPN, Friday Night Smackdown. The AP announced today that the show of World Wrestling Entertainment will not be on the fall schedule. The CW and the WWE both released separated announcement about the decision late Thursday and said that they had agreed to end their successful partnership of a decade after the 2007-08 season. Neither side gave a reason.

WWE is apparently in talks with other networks and has been so since the CW's exclusive period to negotiate a renewal ended on January 31st. No details of possible networks were offered but NBC Universal would be a likely suitor, considering their USA already carries WWE Raw. The fledgling MyNetworkTV might be interested too, as most of their affiliates used to be UPN networks and are, therefore, familiar with Smackdown.

Smackdown debuted on UPN in 1999 and proved to be one of the biggest hits for the network, brilliant counterprogramming to what the big three were offering on Thursday nights. The show moved to Friday nights and survived the merger of UPN and The WB into The CW. Well, at least for a few years.

The press release from the WWE simply said, "After a successful decade of Smackdown on both UPN and the CW, World Wrestling Entertainment and the CW have agreed to conclude our partnership." Variety notes that the decision was probably financial and that The CW and the WWE simply couldn't agree on an amount that made both parties happy. It's VERY likely that another network will come up with a number that satisfies the WWE. Expect to see Smackdown on some network this Fall. We'll keep you informed as to where.

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