Reported Explanation For Why WWE Was Not Included In Today's NBC & FOX Upfronts

NBCUniversal and Fox both held upfronts today, and both had something in common: the auspicious absence of WWE. Both companies carry WWE programming on their networks, with Fox airing "SmackDown" on Fridays and NBCUniversal's USA airing "Raw" on Mondays, and "NXT" on Tuesdays.

The absence of WWE from both upfronts raised some eyebrows, but a new report from PWInsiderElite shed some light on why WWE was excluded. It reported that both NBCU and Fox categorize WWE alongside their sports programming. Since today's upfronts were focused on entertainment programming, this was the main reason WWE was not mentioned. 

The exclusive windows for TV rights negotiations between WWE and both companies have reportedly expired or soon will, meaning WWE can shop its media rights around to other networks. WWE's continuing media rights negotiations could see them end up with a new home network. There is reportedly a want to "diversify" WWE's presence on TV after the WWE-UFC merger unless a network offers a large sum of money for exclusivity.

Later this week, AEW will have its turn with Warner Bros. Discovery's upfronts, which are expected to shed some light on the potential new media deal between the two companies heading into AEW CEO Tony Khan's announcement on Wednesday's "Dynamite." The exact details of AEW's new deal with WBD aren't crystal clear just yet, but speculation has held for high numbers for the young company. Additionally, AEW could find itself streaming future pay-per-views on WBD's Max streaming service, like WWE streams its premium live events on NBCU's Peacock.