USA Network will have a white-hot January with the grand arrival of WWE's two-hour action powerhouse SmackDown, tonight at 8/7 C - making USA the exclusive cable home to WWE marquee properties. In addition to Monday Night Raw, which airs live 52 weeks a year on Mondays from 8-11 p.m C, viewers can now bookend their week with SmackDown on Thursdays from 8-10 p.m. C.
Five-Point Preview: What's on tap for SmackDown on USA Network tonight?
“WWE is proud to have SmackDown join Raw as part of our expanded partnership with USA Network,” said WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon. “The combination of the No. 1 cable network and two ratings juggernauts provides a destination for our viewers and an extraordinary platform for our partners.”
With more than 800 original episodes, SmackDown is the second longest-running weekly episodic program in U.S. television history and is consistently one of the highest-rated weekly series on cable over the past 15 years - only behind Monday Night Raw. Since its debut, SmackDown has been broadcast from 170 different venues, in 148 cities and in seven different countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Iraq, Japan, Italy and Mexico. Tonight will mark SmackDown's 855th episode from Laredo, Texas.