Dave Meltzer Assesses Length Of WWE Raw & SmackDown Starting In 2025

"WWE Raw" is moving from USA to Netflix at the beginning of 2025, and "WWE SmackDown" on USA moving from two hours to three is a rumor that has run rampant in recent months. In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer said that the "working idea" is that both shows will be three hours. He wrote that it would make sense that USA would want a third hour of wrestling on its network, but how much it will cost them won't be known until a deal is announced.

Meltzer said that "SmackDown" is averaging around 533,000 viewers in prime time at its current two-hour runtime, but without wrestling, USA's prime time audience falls to 299,000. When the network loses "Raw" in January, and keeps "SmackDown," it puts viewership at 417,000. Meltzer reasoned that adding a third hour of the blue brand would bring viewership to around 467,000. Meltzer previously reported that WWE officials were heavily in favor of moving "SmackDown" to three hours, and at the time, he reported the announcement would likely be coming near the end of the year. "SmackDown" moving to three hours is said to be a low risk, high reward situation for WWE, as production costs for the extra hour are low, and the company is accustomed to doing three hour shows since 2012 with "Raw."

In September, WrestleVotes reported that the first three-hour episode of "SmackDown" would air on January 3, 2025, before "Raw's" debut on Netflix on January 6. As for "Raw," Meltzer has reported that there is belief "Raw" likely won't have runtime as set in stone as "SmackDown," as it won't need to fit a broadcast schedule on Netflix.