WWE NXT is moving to The CW Network next year, thanks to a new five-year agreement. The CW has been on somewhat of a sports splurge in recent months after announcing deals for NASCAR Xfinity Series, LIV Golf, as well as a number of ACC college football and basketball games each year.
The new deal will see WWE NXT making its debut on The CW Network in October 2024. At which point, 52 live weekly events throughout the season will be shown on the channel. According to the WWE, the agreement marks the first time in its 13-year history that WWE NXT will air on a broadcast television network.
“The CW has made impressive moves over the past year with its live sports programming schedule,” said Nick Khan, WWE President. “It’s a truly exciting opportunity to expand NXT’s audience by bringing the show to broadcast television for the first time in NXT’s history.”
For those unfamiliar with WWE NXT, the program is designed to showcase “WWE’s hottest up-and-coming Superstars”, making it a good option to check out some of the next generation of WWE superstars. According to the WWE, close to 90% of the participants in last year’s WrestleMania came through the NXT ranks.
As mentioned, The CW in general has been making a number of sports-related moves recently, and the WWE NXT deal seems to fit nicely in with its change in strategy to focus more on live sports.
“We are thrilled to welcome the WWE brand into the CW Sports portfolio as they play an integral role in our mission to bring live sporting events to the network year-round,” said Dennis Miller, President, The CW Network.
Earlier this year, WWE announced a new deal with NBCUniversal which will see Friday Night SmackDown returning to USA Network. Similar to this agreement with The CW for WWE NXT, Friday Night SmackDown is also due to make the channel switch (from Fox) beginning October 2024.
