USA Network - part of NBCUniversal - is on the verge of agreeing to a new three-year deal with WWE to retain the broadcasting rights for Monday Night Raw, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The report also suggests that NBCU could be paying "as much as three times its current value," to keep airing Raw. However, NBCU opted not to sign a new deal for the SmackDown Live broadcasting rights. WWE is now looking around for a different network to broadcast the blue brand.
Neither the WWE or NBCU would comment on the contract talks, though there is speculation that Fox could be the next broadcasting network for SmackDown. Per The Hollywood Reporter, NBCU has paid around $30 million to broadcast SmackDown since 2010.
Things suddenly get more interesting now, as WWE needs a new home for SmackDown Live. It's unknown what the price range will be, but there certainly are only a limited amount of networks that could possibly be interested in taking on the blue brand broadcasting rights.
As noted by The Hollywood Reporter, Fox paid $550 million over just five years to broadcast NFL games for Thursday evenings. Factor in that they're a major broadcasting network for MLB and the UFC, and you can't help but wonder if they'll have any interest at all in broadcasting SmackDown.
USA Network originally broadcasted Raw from its inception in 1993 to Sept. 18, 2000. The show was then picked up by TNN/Spike TV for five years. But USA Network returned to broadcasting Raw on Oct. 3, 2005, and they've stayed on since.
As for SmackDown, the broadcasting partners have changed aplenty since its inception in 1999. UPN, The CW, MyNetworkTV, SyFy have all broadcasted the show, which has obviously been aired by USA Network ever since.