Smackdown's Next Move: MyNetworkTV

It had been reported earlier that Friday night's Smackdown will finish its run on the CW Network (formerly WB) at the end of this season. Now Smackdown has found a new home with MyNetworkTV, owned by Newscorp. Smackdown will begin with its new channel this coming fall, and will be shown on either Thursday or Friday nights. Thursday night would put the show up against the other pro wrestling brand, TNA. WWE had several suitors for the new station to host its Smackdown show, but ultimately made the decision of MyNetworkTV.

According to Reuters.com:

"This is a big, bold franchise with huge awareness in the marketplace," MyNet president Greg Meidel said, noting that the deal came together quickly. "The brand is recognized by both men and women (in the key demographics of) 18-34 and 18-49, so it will give us a huge locomotive to drive our schedule and build it out at a much faster rate."

Meidel said "SmackDown" will remain a two-hour program, airing on Thursday or Friday night. That means the series will displace one of the network's two movie nights, which could move to Saturday.

Said WWE chairman Vince McMahon, "We have an unmatched record of delivering ratings success to each and every network partner we've worked with in our long and storied history.

See the full Reuters.com article here