WWE will not be broadcasting SmackDown in the usual manner this week, as officially confirmed by Michael Cole. The announcement was made during tonight’s episode of RAW.
WWE has canceled the usual broadcast of WWE SmackDown
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WWE has a deal in place with USA Network to broadcast all episodes of SmackDown every Friday Night. However, the deal has changed over time. While at first the agreement was for a two-hour show, that changed when the show started to broadcast, at least for the first half of the year, with the show being three hours long.
The show went back to two hours for the second half of 2025 and has returned to three hours once again this year. However, that’s not the only thing that changes regarding SmackDown.
The company has officially canceled the SmackDown broadcast on USA Network for this Friday and likely for the next as well. This is happening because the Olympics will air in the usual SmackDown slot on the USA Network. Thankfully, this does not mean SmackDown is canceled; the show will air on SyFy instead of USA Network. While it has a lower viewership, the company appears to have accepted the change in broadcast, which can take place in some circumstances, such as this.
Michael Cole confirmed the official announcement on RAW tonight, saying that the show would be airing on SyFy instead of the USA Network.
“Hey a programming note. Just a remind, for those of you who watch SmackDown Friday in the United States, it’s going to take place over on Syfy because of the Olympics.”
It remains to be seen how much SmackDown’s viewership suffers as a result of this change and what happens next. For international viewers, there will be no change in broadcast.
Edited by Anirban Banerjee
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