WWE Smackdown Moves to Thursday Night
By Sean Farrell
The 2nd longest episodic show in history that averages 3.1 million viewers on Friday nights and beats all Friday primetime viewing on any cable network is moving to Thursday nights on Syfy beginning January 15 at 8pm ET.
The WWE issued the following statement on the show’s move.
“WWE’s sizable and passionate fan base make SmackDown the No. 1 entertainment show on Syfy and the most-watched, regularly scheduled program among key demographics on the network,” said Michelle Wilson, WWEChief Revenue and Marketing Officer. “We look forward to bringing the WWE audience to Thursday nights on Syfy.
Quite simply, more young men watch television on Thursday night than on Fridays,” said Michael Engleman, Executive Vice President, Marketing, Digital and Global Brand Strategy, Syfy. “Among Men 18-49, PUTS [persons using television are 15 percent higher compared to Fridays, expanding the potential audience for SmackDown. Since the majority of broadcast programming skews female, we’re also using Thursday nights to counter-program.”
In 15 years, SmackDown has been broadcast from 170 different venues, in 148 cities and towns, in seven different countries. Smackdown is also at 800 episodes and counting.