Posted in: Netflix, Sports, TV, USA Network, WWE | Tagged: wwe, WWE Raw, wwe smackdown

WWE SmackDown 3 Hours "For Right Now" But Will Shift Back to 2 Hours

Despite moving to three hours on January 3rd, Triple H confirmed that USA Network's WWE SmackDown will be going back to a two-hour run.

With all of the attention focused on the debut of WWE Raw tonight on Netflix, one of the biggest topics that fans have been wondering about was how long each show would run – with WWE CCO Triple H sharing that the runtime of the show will be "flexible" (more on that below). Now, we have an update on what the future holds for USA Network's WWE SmackDown – and it looks like the future involves a shift back to two hours. As we headed into the end of 2024, the WWE's website noted that WWE SmackDown would move to three hours beginning with the January 3rd edition – but it looks like that was a temporary measure. Checking in with The Pat McAfee Show earlier today, Pat McAfee and Triple H discussed the decision making that goes into the timing of the various shows. When McAfee referenced WWE SmackDown having expanded to three hours, Triple H noted, "Yes, for right now [it is three hours], and then it switches back to two."

Here's a look at the clip from McAfee's interview with Triple H when the WWE's CCO confirms WWE SmackDown moving back to two hours at some point this year:

Triple H Explains Why WWE Raw Runtime "Will Be Flexible" on Netflix: "It will be flexible. It will be flexible in I don't necessarily know the time constraints of network television or cable television apply. It's a slightly different platform. Much like many episodic shows, they have the ability to do whatever the show needs to have down. If this episode needs to be an hour, great, it's an hour. If the next episode needs to be 42 minutes, it's 42 minutes. It's what makes for the best product. I'm not saying we're going to be 42 minutes, but clearly, we'll deliver the product in a way that is best for Netflix and their business model and best for our storytelling." Triple H shared with Jimmy Traina during the latest episode of the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast. "We have averages. For me, the perfect show time is somewhere in the two-and-a-half-hour range. If you had asked me years ago, the two-hour shows, you get into them, and you don't have the real estate on that program to get everything in there you want to get in, all the stories and characters. Sometimes, it's a good thing because it creates scarcity and opportunity for people to be more over, but sometimes there are things you want to get in there."

Triple H offered an example of how a segment going long would impact the rest of the live show. "People lose track of the fact that what we do is live. There are formats we have to stick with and constraints of commercial time. If you run a segment that is scheduled for 10 minutes and it ends up being colossal content and goes 17 minutes, you're now 17 minutes into a show, and you have to find places to pull that out and still hit commercial times and crossover times, which is important for networks. All of that makes it difficult to do," he explained.

"I think we'll have more freedom in the format and more freedom to say… if two hours is not enough, three hours, you can be in the position of 'did you need that or was it important?'" Triple H continued. "I don't want to say filler because I don't want anyone to feel like they're filler. Sometimes, a three-hour show, having hours that crossover, you're so constrained by that that you're putting in the show what we call 'collapsible.' The show is heavy, we get late into an hour, something has to lose time. What is collapsible? What is not the story driving everything? What can be shrunk or can go quicker? The amount of commercial time doesn't change. It's difficult. Sometimes, three hours can feel long, and two hours is not enough. Somewhere in the middle is a sweet spot."

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