It looks like it is finally happening. WWE is actually moving their Smackdown program to Thursday nights from Fridays. They have released an official statement through their own media team about the move and why they choose to do it.
The show that averages 3.1 million viewers on Friday nights and beats all Friday primetime viewing on any cable network is moving to Thursday nights on Syfy beginning January 15 at 8pm ET. With nearly 800 original episodes, SmackDown is the second longest-running weekly episodic program in U.S. television history, only behind WWE’s other flagship program, Monday Night Raw.
“WWE’s sizable and passionate fan base make SmackDown the No. 1 entertainment show on Syfy and the most-watched, regularly scheduled program among key demographics on the network,” said Michelle Wilson, WWE Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer. “We look forward to bringing the WWE audience to Thursday nights on Syfy.”
“Quite simply, more young men watch television on Thursday night than on Fridays,” said Michael Engleman, Executive Vice President, Marketing, Digital and Global Brand Strategy, Syfy. “Among Men 18-49, PUTS [persons using television] are 15 percent higher compared to Fridays, expanding the potential audience for SmackDown. Since the majority of broadcast programming skews female, we’re also using Thursday nights to counter-program.”
With a name made famous 15 years ago by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s popular catchphrase, SmackDown has been broadcast from 170 different venues, in 148 cities and towns, in seven different countries including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Iraq, Japan, Italy and Mexico.
The show is most likely going to continue to be successful with competition being on par or less than it was for the Smackdown show on Friday nights.