NXT moving to The CW in 2024

[Dale]

By Mike Johnson on 2023-11-07 15:00:00
World Wrestling Entertainment is on the verge of announcing a new television home for WWE NXT, PWInsider.com can confirm.

Multiple sources in the broadcast industry have confirmed that the CW Network and WWE have been in deep discussions for weeks about NXT shifting from its current basic cable home on the USA Network to a traditional broadcast television home, airing live weekly on the CW Network when the brand's current media rights deal ends in September 2024.

The belief among some we have spoken with is the deal is VERY close to being completed with the deal expected to be around five years in length.

Once signed, it would easily be the biggest increase for WWE NXT media rights fees ever, PWInsider.com is told.

WWE has been hard at work at raising the prestige of WWE NXT so that the brand would be seen as something greater than just a developmental series for the company, with Becky Lynch, John Cena, The Undertaker, Paul Heyman, Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley, among others, making appearances in recent months.

The CW Network has been focusing more on sports programming since Nexstar Media Group purchased controlling interest in CW back in October 2022. The Network, best known in recent years for DC Superhero and teen-focused dramas. has instead brought Inside the NFL to CW, acquired the rights to LIV Golf events and in 2025, will be the home to the NASCAR Xfinity Series. WWE programming would fit right into that current strategy.

PWInsider.com is told that the CW has had conversations with several wrestling promotions beyond WWE over the course of this year with discussion on series programming for both the network and the CW App, but WWE became the frontrunner and focus of conversations.

The CW is the spiritual successor to the now-defunct UPN Network, where Friday Night Smackdown first debuted back in 1999. Smackdown will be moving to the USA Network in the Fall of 2024. With the CW deal, WWE would now have weekly series locked in on broadcast and cable platforms. One has to wonder if the one series left to be locked into a new home, Raw, could land on a streaming service. There has been talk of multiple streaming providers, including Amazon's Prime Video, having interest.

WWE parent company TKO Holdings has an earnings call set for later today at 5 PM Eastern, so it should be interesting to see whether the NXT rights fees are brought up. That seems to be the perfect place to officially unveil a new partnership.​

 

[Hidden Blaze]

I know it mentions Smackdown being on UPN before which is basically what CW is now (merged with the WB) but why does it fail to mention Smackdown was actually on the CW as well? but oh, now this is an interesting development.

 

[Cwalker]

Wouldn’t NXT going to the CW kinda completely kill the NWA deal. I know it’s kinda already on life support.

 

[Hidden Blaze]

Wouldn’t NXT going to the CW kinda completely kill the NWA deal. I know it’s kinda already on life support.

Yeah, this is what is interesting to me. WWE is lucky that NWA shot themselves in the foot because if this kills that deal, that could’ve been another lawsuit similar to the MLW one, but after NWA fucked themselves, then NWA won’t have much of a leg to stand on in saying WWE lost them it.

 

[Chris]

Lmaooo I thought they meant moving out of the PC for TV at first and I was like thank fuck

 

[Sky]

Oh damn I didn't see there was a thread for this, mine is in the NXT section

 

[Chris]

Oh damn I didn't see there was a thread for this, mine is in the NXT section

Fixed, no worries

I thought NXT had the biggest change to move except for it was seemingly still a package deal with Raw. I thought NXT would have been an easy experiment into a streaming deal instead if they were willing to pay

 

[Hidden Blaze]

If Raw ends up on a streaming service like it mentions, please be one I actually have lol

 

[Butters]

Would be an interesting time to have a show on network tv, cable, and streaming. They could let that run for like a year and see which one does the best viewership wise and maybe move all of them to that eventually.

 

[Storm Trooper]

wait... I remember hearing rumors of the NWA going to CW and now y'all saying LOLNWA fucked that up?

What the hell did they do?


With regards to WWE, I like this idea I think? They stay on Broadcast but it's the smaller network.

 

[Chris]

wait... I remember hearing rumors of the NWA going to CW and now y'all saying LOLNWA fucked that up?

What the hell did they do?


With regards to WWE, I like this idea I think? They stay on Broadcast but it's the smaller network.

CW not happy about this

 

[Hidden Blaze]

wait... I remember hearing rumors of the NWA going to CW and now y'all saying LOLNWA fucked that up?

What the hell did they do?


With regards to WWE, I like this idea I think? They stay on Broadcast but it's the smaller network.

They did a like, cocaine spot or something like that on the PPV and the CW Executives found out when people tagged them on Twitter.

 

[Storm Trooper]

CW not happy about this

They did a like, cocaine spot or something like that on the PPV and the CW Executives found out when people tagged them on Twitter.

oh shit yeah I remember this. This was funny but yeah didn't think about the logical concept of network executives not enjoying people snorting coke on TV.

 

[Stellar]

The CW be trying to make moves. NASCAR Xfinity Series moving there in 2025, The NWA maybe moving there (pending if that's still happening) and now NXT possibly moving there.

 

[Dale]

So this network is available in way more homes then?