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Report: Raw Could Come to Network TV as Fox Makes Push for WWE TV Rights
Rumors of WWE moving its weekly televised wrestling shows to Fox are picking up steam again. This time, a report from sporting-news-themed sporting news site SportingNews.com claims that Fox is making an aggressive push toward acquiring WWE's TV rights, "dangling the carrot" of airing Monday Night Raw on Fox's broadcast network.
WWE's current TV contract with NBCUniversal, which owns USA where Raw and Smackdown Live currently air, is up in September, and WWE is expected to announce their next sometime before then. A recent report suggested that Amazon could also be in contention to pick up the TV rights, while another rumor in January suggested that Fox could buy WWE outright.
Of course, Fox itself is currently set for major changes, as 21st Century Fox has a deal in the works to sell most of its assets to Disney. That deal, however, would leave the Fox broadcast networks, Fox News, and Fox Sports remain, and it's that new, leaner Fox that is interested in WWE.
If Fox were to pick up at least WWE's TV rights, Raw could be cut back to two hours and air on Fox, potentially exposing the show to more viewers to see how strong Roman looks. Smackdown Live, on the other hand, would likely air on Fox Sports.