WWE recently made an announcement that the program SmackDown would officially extend to a three-hour duration starting from the first week of January 3rd.
In the same vein, reports from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter suggest that WWE Monday Night RAW is set to follow suit, reverting to a three-hour program from its current two-hour format. This change is expected to occur upon its transition to broadcast on Netflix beginning January 6th.
Having previously adopted a three-hour format from 2014 till this year, RAW had shifted to a two-hour format on the USA Network. However, it seems the tide is turning once more.
According to WWE, the partnership with Netflix affords them more flexibility, liberating them from the firm ending times enforced by more traditional television networks.
Despite this shift, various international TV partners who still air RAW programming – including agile sports channels familiar with swift scheduling adjustments – remain in the mix. These broadcasting partners have been duly informed of RAW’s upcoming conversion to a three-hour format.
Indeed, a prominent insider source within WWE confirmed the switch: “We’re going to three hours on both.”
Consequently, this imminent shift signifies that a hefty eight-hour portion of every week will be chock-full of WWE televised content.