Variety: WWE NXT Moving To Wednesday Nights

UPDATE: Variety reports that, as expected, WWE NXT will not be competing with SmackDown after the latter show moves to Thursday. WWE CMO Michelle Wilson told the outlet that NXT will be moving to Wednesday nights at 8 PM in the wake of the SmackDown move.

The move was widely expected because it would be suicide to put the two shows against each other.

ORIGINAL: WWE sent out the following press release, confirming that starting on January 15th, 2015, SmackDown is moving to Thursday nights…

SMACKDOWN® MOVES TO THURSDAY NIGHT ON SYFY

NEW YORK – November 6, 2014 – The show 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 15th at 8pm ET. With nearly 800 original episodes, SmackDown is the second longest-running weekly episodic program in U.S. television history, only behind WWE’s other flagship program, Monday Night Raw®.

“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 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.”

“WWE’s sizable and passionate fan base make SmackDown the #1 entertainment show on Syfy and the most-watched, regularly-scheduled program among key demographics on the network,” said Michelle Wilson, Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer, WWE. “We look forward to bringing the WWE audience to Thursday nights on Syfy.”
Over the past 15 years, SmackDown has been broadcast from 170 different venues, in 148 cities and towns, in seven different countries including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Iraq, Japan, Italy and Mexico. The name SmackDown came from WWE Superstar Dwayne “The Rock®” Johnson’s popular catchphrase, “Lay the Smackdown®.”

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