WWE Announces SmackDown’s Move to 3 Hours from January 2025

WWE has announced that SmackDown will be a 3-hour show starting from 2025.

Starting January 3, 2025, SmackDown will expand from its traditional two-hour format to a three-hour broadcast. The first extended episode will air live from Phoenix, Arizona. In the United States, the show airs on the USA Network every Friday night at 8/7 C.

Outside US, the show will air on Netflix in most of international territories from January 10, including Canada, United Kingdom, Australia. However, The January 3 episode of SmackDown will be streamed via WWE’s Youtube channel in these markets since WWE’s deal with Netflix starts from January 6, 2025’s RAW episode which sees RAW also airing on the streaming services in US.

The move to a 3-hour SmackDown mirrors WWE’s previous approach with RAW. RAW transitioned to a three-hour format in 2012. For 12 years, RAW maintained its extended runtime which only ended in October 2024 when WWE used the USA network as its temporary home before it’s eventual move to Netflix in January 2025.

With SmackDown being confirmed announced for 3 hours, it may also be a sign that RAW will also be 3 hours show when it goes to Netflix. It will be interesting to see how pro wrestling fans will react to SmackDown’s new change. Over the years, fans have shown their frustration with 3 hours format of RAW. However, will this be a norm for pro wrestling shows going forward?