WWE announces Smackdown will air live starting July 19th and separate rosters

The WWE made a big announcement Wednesday morning revealing that Smackdown will air live on the USA Network starting July 19th. Perhaps the biggest piece of news out of this though is the WWE will once again break up the rosters via a draft that will consist of separate storylines and writing teams.

It’s unclear at this point when that draft will take place however the WWE did issue the following press release regarding the move of Smackdown to Tuesday night’s and the presumptive brand split.

SMACKDOWN GOING LIVE ON USA NETWORK BEGINNING

TUESDAY, JULY 19

— SMACKDOWN to Feature Distinct Roster and Storylines —

— Conspiracy Thriller ‘SHOOTER’ to Premiere Immediately Following

SMACKDOWN on July 19 at 10/9c —

NEW YORK and STAMFORD, CONN – May 25, 2016 — USA Network, the exclusive cable home to WWE’s marquee properties, announced that its weekly SMACKDOWN show will air live – for the first time ever – and move to Tuesdays every week beginning July 19 from 8-10PM ET/PT. With the SMACKDOWN move, USA Network will now offer five hours of live WWE programming a week, including the weekly three-hour live WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW (airing Mondays from 8-11PM ET/PT), with each show featuring a distinct cast, unique storylines and a dedicated writing team.

In 2016 to date, MONDAY NIGHT RAW is averaging 4.011MM total viewers, 1.873MM P25-54 and 1.846MM P18-49 L7, and SMACKDOWN in its current time slot is averaging 2.674MM P2+, 1.136MM P25-54, and 1.058MM P18-49+ L7, making USA the #1 cable entertainment network across the key demos on Monday and Thursday nights. In 2015, the two programs combined reached over 50MM viewers.  Both shows will now air live 52 weeks a year.

“The fan base for our WWE shows is one of the most passionate and engaged audiences in all of entertainment,” said Chris McCumber, President, Entertainment Networks, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment.  “There is a huge appetite among our viewers for live programming, and the ability to move SMACKDOWN to a live format brings a new level of excitement and helps truly eventize this every week.”

“WWE’s flagship programs will both leverage the incredible depth of our talent roster, distinct storylines and the unpredictable nature of live TV,” said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “This move will undoubtedly build more excitement and deepen engagement with our fans around the world.”

With 874 original episodes, SMACKDOWN is the second longest-running weekly episodic program in U.S. television history, only behind MONDAY NIGHT RAW at 1,200 episodes.

Beginning July 19, immediately following SMACKDOWN, USA Network will premiere the new original drama SHOOTER, starring Ryan Phillippe (“Secrets and Lies”), at 10/9c.  SHOOTER is based on the best-selling Bob Lee Swagger novel by Stephen Hunter, Point of Impact, and the 2007 Paramount film starring Mark Wahlberg. The series follows the courageous journey of Swagger, a highly-decorated ex-marine sniper who is coaxed back into action after he learns about a plot to kill the President. Mark Wahlberg (“Boardwalk Empire,” “Entourage”) of Closest to the Hole Productions serves as executive producer along with Stephen Levinson (“Boardwalk Empire,” “Ballers”) of Leverage Entertainment; Lorenzo di Bonaventura (“Transformers,” “The Real O’Neals”) and John Hlavin (“The Shield”). The series is a co-production between Paramount Television and Universal Cable Productions.

In terms of the roster size this is the best possible plan of action the WWE could have undertaken. NXT has been a great addition for the company thus far however as guys continue to get the call up to the main roster Superstars like Dolph Ziggler or Cesaro tend to get buried or lost in the fray.

The WWE has had it’s deepest roster, probably ever and this will only help creative develop new talent while keeping some of the guys who are already there still relevant.