Following last night’s announcement by WWE that Friday Night SmackDown will not return to the CW Network after the 2007-2008 season (in the fall), the obvious question is what is next for WWE’s second highest rated show? According to Variety the most logical choice for WWE would be to get a slot on the USA Network as they already have a relationship with NBC Universal with RAW airing on USA and ECW on the Sci-Fi Channel.
However, Variety also hinted that News Corp.’s MyNetwork TV could be in the running for the series. Obviously Friday Night SmackDown would be the highest rated show on MyNetwork TV but it would have to be considered a huge set backwards for WWE.
If WWE is able to get SmackDown under their current deal with NBC Universal, the USA Network, Bravo, and the Sci-Fi Channel would be the top networks in the running. NBC and MSNBC would be the other options but would be long-shots for obvious reasons. If SmackDown doesn’t fall under WWE’s current deal with NBC Universal or NBC Universal lets WWE shop the show with other networks, there could be several other possibilities.