Rumors On WWE TV Rights Talks As UFC Merger Closes

WWE is coming up on the end of its current TV rights deals, with all three of the company's flagship shows requiring new contracts soon. Over the last few months, reports have emerged indicating that negotiations have begun. On the latest "Wrestling Observer Radio," journalist Dave Meltzer stated that both "WWE Raw" and "WWE NXT" will probably remain on the USA Network, with big rights fee increases for WWE. However, Fox is unlikely to offer the amount of money the company will be looking for to retain "WWE SmackDown," making it a strong possibility that the show will move to a new network.

Amazon and Disney are two of the top prospects to land "SmackDown," according to Meltzer, and it's quite possible that the show ends up on a night other than Friday. It all depends on who ends up with the rights to the series, and what night works best for their schedule. If Disney were to land the show, it could end up on the broadcast network ABC or cable network FX. As for Amazon, hard as it may be to imagine, "SmackDown" could end up as an exclusive on Amazon Prime Video, the company's streaming service.

Disney's interest in WWE TV rights has been a topic of discussion for months, with the New York Post reporting the company was looking to air WWE content on FX. With regard to Amazon, WWE Chief Content Officer and retired wrestler Paul "Triple H" Levesque was spotted sitting next to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, as well as Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, at New York Fashion Week on Monday. The merger between WWE and UFC was made official this morning, making Emanuel Levesque's new boss.