Recently, the Times Union published an article prior to the debut of Friday Night Smackdown on FOX. FOX Sports President Eric Shanks commented on Smackdown on FOX, saying “It has the potential to rejuvenate Friday nights.”
WWE executive Triple H commented in the article, “I think the opportunity to go to a broadcast platform with partners like Fox that not only want to take what you do and embrace it, but help you to make it something more, increases the value.” He added, “You’ll see changes right away.”
In addition, Triple H also commented on the decline in ratings for WWE programming over the years.
“I think any show that has been on the air as long as ‘Raw’ and ‘Smackdown’ have, you’re going to have moments in time where things ebb and flow. When you look back over it, you hope that as you look back 10 years from now, you go, ‘Oh, there was a little dip there but it wasn’t for long and they corrected course and got right.’”
FOX Sports President Eric Shanks defended WWE programming and ratings stating, “They haven’t had the programming and awareness that they will have on Fox. We’re hoping it will grow after the anniversary show.”
