When is the start time & date of Friday Night Smackdown?

Friday Night SmackDown, also known as WWE SmackDown, is one of the two flagship shows that the WWE broadcasts weekly. The other one is Monday Night Raw. As the name suggests, SmackDown is broadcast in the United States on Fridays. Fox currently hosts it. A Spanish-language broadcast is shown simultaneously on Fox Deportes. SmackDown is broadcast live, beginning at 8 pm ET. The show features characters from the SmackDown brand. Some notable names are Roman Reigns, Edge and Lacey Evans.

Since October 2022, the SmackDown English language commentary team has been Michael Cole and Wade Barrett. Past commentators for the SmackDown brand include Mauro Ranallo, Jim Ross, Todd Grisham, and Jerry Lawler. Beginning in 1999, SmackDown has had several broadcast partners over the years. The show is also broadcast around the globe via numerous international broadcasters.

SmackDown’s Broadcast History In America

SmackDown began as a Thursday night broadcast on UPN. That arrangement lasted from April 1999 until September 2005, when the show moved to Friday nights and changed its broadcast partner. The CW was the new home of SmackDown, and Friday night was its new time slot. Since 2005, the network and the day SmackDown was broadcasted on has changed several times.

From October 2008, SmackDown was shown on MyNetworkTV. That arrangement lasted until October 2010, when SmackDown moved to cable network Syfy. In January 2015, the show returned to its original Thursday night broadcast slot. January 2016 saw another change of broadcast partner. SmackDown was now shown on USA Network, and later in 2016, it became a Tuesday night show. SmackDown moved to Fox in October 2019 and returned to the Friday night slot.

Although predominantly based in America, SmackDown has taken place and been broadcast from five international locations in its history. Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, and Mexico have all hosted episodes of SmackDown over the years. The international interest is partly due to the WWE’s global appeal, which is helped by its international broadcasting partners.

SmackDown Broadcasts Across The World

 SmackDown is available to watch on every continent on earth. Fox Sports broadcasts it in Central and South America. Across the time zones and vast continents of Asia, Africa, and Oceania, the WWE has many broadcasting deals in place across the many nations. Some examples include airing live on Saturday mornings in Australia on Fox8. New Zealand also airs SmackDown live on Sky 5.

Sony Ten shows SmackDown live in Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and India. Other Asian countries in which SmackDown can be seen include Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia. In South Africa, SuperSport broadcasts the show live and uncut.

SmackDown is also shown in various European countries. Spain offers it on delay every Sunday at 1 pm local time on Mega. It is broadcast live in Portugal, meaning a start time of 1 am Saturday morning. SportTV 4 is the broadcaster. Like Portugal, the UK and Ireland also have a live 1 am broadcast of SmackDown. TNT Sports is the place to watch.

Streaming And The Future

 The WWE Network ceased operations in the United States in 2021. All the content from there has moved over to streaming service Peacock, where all previous episodes of SmackDown can be found. Episodes of SmackDown had previously been streamed on Hulu.

With over 24 years of history and well over 1000 shows broadcast, SmackDown is an established WWE brand enjoyed by wrestling fans worldwide. It may have moved timeslot and broadcaster occasionally, but for now, as the show’s full name tells us, SmackDown is a firm Friday night fixture with a solid global presence that only continues to grow stronger.

Colin Morrison

A boxing fan since his teenage years, Morrison began writing about the sport in July 2016. He appreciates all styles of boxing and has nothing but respect for those who get in the ring for our entertainment. Morrison is from Scotland and can be found on Twitter @Morrie1981.

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