WWE has officially decided to expand Friday Night SmackDown back to a three-hour broadcast format, marking a significant change to the blue brand’s programming structure. According to reports from WrestleVotes, WWE and USA Network have agreed to reinstate the extended format beginning January 2, 2026, with the first three-hour show emanating from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.
The Format Evolution
This marks the second major iteration of SmackDown’s three-hour experiment in recent years. At the start of 2025, WWE initially expanded SmackDown to three hours on January 3, running the extended format through the first half of the year until July 4, 2025, when the show reverted to its traditional two-hour runtime.
The pattern suggests WWE and USA Network have settled on a hybrid model for the blue brand’s future. Rather than maintaining a consistent format year-round, SmackDown will operate on a split-year schedule: three hours for the first half of the calendar year and two hours for the second half.
This cyclical approach was hinted at by WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque during his appearance at the All In business summit in September 2025. Levesque casually mentioned that SmackDown would operate as “two hours and half the year is three hours on USA.” While the comment appeared vague at the time, it now appears Levesque was telegraphing the blueprint for the show’s long-term format strategy.
USA Network’s Role in the Decision
The decision to expand SmackDown back to three hours appears primarily driven by USA Network rather than WWE’s creative team. Earlier in 2025, internal WWE sources reportedly expressed strong dissatisfaction with the three-hour format, with multiple personnel stating they “strongly dislike the three-hour SmackDown format.”
However, USA Network reportedly remained satisfied with the viewership numbers generated during the first half of 2025 when SmackDown aired as a three-hour broadcast. The network’s advertising revenue interests appear to have outweighed WWE’s internal creative preferences, resulting in the decision to reinstate the extended format.
This dynamic mirrors how USA Network previously influenced programming decisions. When WWE moved SmackDown back to USA Network following the show’s departure from Fox in 2024, the network secured a five-year deal worth approximately $287 million per year, totaling over $1.4 billion.
Advertising Revenue Considerations
The substantial value of USA Network’s investment in WWE programming provides insight into why the network pushed for the format expansion. SmackDown has proven exceptionally valuable from an advertising perspective, commanding premium rates from advertisers seeking primetime exposure.
During its 2023 run on Fox, SmackDown achieved advertising rates around $51,077 per commercial slot, representing an 8% increase from the previous year. These rates positioned SmackDown second only to ABC’s Shark Tank among Friday night shows, despite consistently beating Shark Tank in the coveted 18-49 demographic.
The additional hour on USA Network provides the cable network with roughly 52 extra hours of programming annually during the first half of each year, translating to significant additional advertising revenue opportunities.
Context: How This Compares to Raw
The three-hour format carries particular significance given the trajectory of WWE Raw, WWE’s flagship show. Raw maintained a three-hour runtime for 12 years following its 1,000th episode in 2012, before being reduced to two hours on October 7, 2024, ahead of its debut on Netflix in January 2025.
However, Raw’s move to Netflix has created operational complications. Netflix reportedly edited and cut 40-plus minutes from early Raw broadcasts, reducing international versions to approximately 2 hours and 25 minutes compared to the live 3+ hour runtime broadcast in the United States.
Despite internal creative concerns about the three-hour format, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque has articulated the company’s flexible approach to runtime decisions. Speaking following Bad Blood 2024, Levesque stated: “If you would have asked me a few years ago, three hours was just, the difference between two and three is night and day. I can’t even express how different it is. Now, we’re in a place where we’re doing a three hour show and it’s going to drop to two. It’s a different way of looking at it and it’s a little bit of stress because it’s less. I think sometimes less is more and that’s going to be a good thing.”
Fan Reception and Industry Implications
The return to the three-hour format has generated mixed reactions from wrestling fans and media observers. Some viewers appreciate the additional storytelling time and expanded card that three hours allows, while others felt that the first half of 2025’s three-hour iteration exposed a thin roster and lack of compelling mid-card storylines on the blue brand.
Detractors argued that the extra hour was not optimally used to develop rising talent or create meaningful character development, instead resulting in elongated segments and promotional content that stretched the broadcast.
Proponents of the three-hour format counter that it provides more opportunities for character development, additional matches for roster members seeking television time, and greater flexibility for creative storytelling.
What Comes Next
WWE has not officially announced the format change, though industry sources expect the company to formally confirm the news in the coming weeks. The official announcement will likely coincide with WWE’s promotional push for the January 2, 2026, episode from Buffalo, which could feature significant star power and storyline development to justify the new format.
With SmackDown expanded to three hours for the first half of 2026, the blue brand will operate on the cyclical schedule outlined by Levesque at the All In summit. This model allows WWE to capitalize on seasonal programming variations, potentially providing extended broadcasts during the Road to WrestleMania season while maintaining tighter two-hour broadcasts during the latter half of the year.
The decision ultimately reflects the ongoing negotiation between creative preferences, network interests, and audience engagement metrics that define modern professional wrestling programming strategy.
