ESPN 'Took A Hard Look' At Adding SmackDown, Couldn't Make It Work

ESPN EVP Says They ‘Took A Hard Look’ At Adding WWE SmackDown, But Couldn’t Make It Work

Executive Vice President of ESPN’s programming and scheduling, Burke Magnus, says the network looked into signing a deal to add WWE SmackDown Live but couldn’t make it work as a year-round addition to their schedule.

Speaking to The Wrap, Magnus said ESPN talked to WWE during their negotiation process a few months ago before the wrestling promotion made a deal with FOX. Magnus said the network couldn’t make it work based on their schedule, saying they couldn’t clear WWE, much less anything else for 52 weeks a year of live programming. He added that it’s a “pretty good problem” to have, noting their robust portfolio of existing content, and said “looked at all kinds of conversations to try and make it fit. It just didn’t work.”

Magnus also noted that the WWE talks were independent of the network’s new deal with UFC, and said there were no discussions for All Elite Wrestling, saying AEW did not approach them about a potential deal.