World Wrestling Entertainment Inc (NYSE:WWE) has found a home for Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live, signing a five-year agreement with Comcast Corp’s (NASDAQ:CMCSA) USA Network and 21st Century Fox’s (NASDAQ:FOX) Fox Sports.
The deal more than triples the terms of its previous deal. The annual average rights fees for Raw and SmackDown will increase to US$468mln compared to US$130mln, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Monday Night Raw will air on USA Network while Fox Sports will air SmackDown Live on Fridays. NBCUniversal had declined to renew its deal for SmackDown, according to a CNBC report.
The professional wrestling entertainment programs draw millions of viewers each week with big-name wrestlers like John Cena, Undertaker, Jeff Hardy and Nikki Bella.
“We look forward to continuing our long-standing partnership with NBCUniversal and USA Network. Monday Night Raw has been synonymous with USA Network and we are excited about what the future holds for WWE’s flagship program,” said CEO Vince McMahon.
Monday Night Raw has been on the air for 25 years, airing more than 1,300 episodes to make it the longest-running weekly episodic television show in US primetime history, according to the release.
For the year ahead, the company said that while it’s still in the “early stages” of developing its yearly plan, it forecasts adjusted OIBDA to be at least US$200mln.
Shares of the Connecticut-based company surged more than 10% to US$73.30 in Wednesday pre-market trading.
--Story has been updated to clarify SmackDown Live will air on Fox Sports, adds latest share price--
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