What was supposed to be a temporary experiment has turned into WWE’s new reality. SmackDown’s extended three-hour format, initially planned as a short-term arrangement, now looks like it’s here to stay much longer than anyone anticipated.
USA Network Pulls an Audible on SmackDown’s Runtime
The blue brand made the jump to three hours earlier this year with a clear end date in sight. Original plans called for SmackDown to revert to its traditional two-hour format by May 30th, wrapping up what was expected to be a six-month trial run.
But those plans just got thrown out the window. According to WrestleVotes Radio, USA Network and WWE have scrapped their January agreement about returning to the shorter format.
The network brass are reportedly thrilled with how that third hour is performing, both in viewership numbers and advertising revenue. When the money talks, creative concerns tend to take a backseat.
Behind-the-Scenes Frustration Builds
While USA Network celebrates the ratings boost, WWE’s production and creative teams are singing a different tune entirely. Multiple sources within the company have raised red flags about the extended format’s impact on show quality.
The complaints sound eerily familiar to anyone who remembers Raw’s controversial move to three hours back in 2012. Creative burnout, sluggish pacing, and unnecessary filler content have become recurring issues plaguing the Friday night show.
Perhaps most frustrating for those behind the scenes is how that extra hour gets utilized. Instead of showcasing emerging talent or developing compelling storylines, much of the third hour feels like padding designed purely to fill time slots.
September Offers a Glimmer of Hope
Don’t completely lose hope for a format change just yet. Industry insiders suggest that late September could bring a potential shift back to two hours, coinciding with the traditional start of the new television season.
These ongoing discussions between WWE and USA Network indicate that the three-hour format isn’t necessarily set in stone forever. However, the financial incentives for maintaining the longer show remain incredibly strong.
The advertising revenue from that additional hour provides substantial income that’s hard for any network to walk away from, especially when ratings remain solid.
The Raw Comparison That Nobody Wants
The parallels between SmackDown’s current situation and Raw’s three-hour growing pains are impossible to ignore. Monday Night Raw faced similar criticism when it expanded its runtime over a decade ago.
Many longtime fans and industry observers worried that SmackDown would fall into the same creative traps that have occasionally plagued Raw. Those concerns appear to be materializing as the blue brand struggles with pacing and content quality.
The challenge becomes finding ways to meaningfully fill three hours of television without resorting to repetitive segments or meaningless matches that don’t advance storylines.
What This Means for WWE’s Future
This format extension represents more than just an extra hour of weekly programming. It signals how television partnerships and advertising dollars increasingly drive creative decisions in modern wrestling.
USA Network’s satisfaction with the third hour’s performance suggests they’ll continue pushing for longer formats across WWE programming. The financial benefits simply outweigh the creative challenges from a network perspective.
For WWE’s creative team, this means adapting to a new reality where three-hour shows might become the standard rather than the exception. The question remains whether they can find innovative ways to make that extra time feel essential rather than excessive.
Will WWE’s creative team find their rhythm with the extended format, or are we destined for more months of padded programming that leaves fans checking the clock? September’s potential format discussions could determine whether SmackDown becomes a three-hour success story or another cautionary tale about prioritizing quantity over quality.
