World Wrestling Entertainment has found a new home on The CW after the broadcast announced it has agreed to become the exclusive broadcast partner of NXT.
The CW and WWE have agreed to a five-year deal to broadcast NXT beginning next October. The CW will broadcast 52 live weekly events as part of the deal.
NXT is one of WWE’s most important weekly properties and showcases the company’s “up-and-coming” entertainers, known as WWE Superstars.
The program is currently broadcast on the USA Network and has also operated as a digital-exclusive property in the United States. The move to The CW marks the first time in the program’s 13-year history it will be available on a broadcast television network.
Dennis Miller, president of The CW Network, said NXT will play an integral role in the company’s continued expansion into live sporting events.
“WWE NXT is a perfect fit for The CW thanks to its dynamic young talent featuring the hottest rising stars in the sport and exhilarating, unpredictable weekly events,” Miller said. “The passion and engagement of WWE’s fanbase is unmatched, and we are eager to grow that audience as WWE NXT’s new home on broadcast television.”
NXT is something of a development program for WWE’s flagship shows, “Raw” and “Smackdown.” According to the company, nearly 90% of the participants in last year’s WrestleMania — equivalent to the Super Bowl of sports entertainment — were developed under the NXT banner.
“WWE Superstars, such as Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, have come up through NXT,” an official news release reads.
The program is particularly popular among younger audiences and is the No. 1 cable primetime show on Tuesday nights among critical demographics, according to CW officials.
“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.”
The CW is continuing to expand into sports broadcasting, recently inking deals with the NCAA Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for college football and basketball games. The company also hosts “Inside the NFL” and will broadcast NASCAR Xfinity Series races beginning in 2025.
In 2022, The CW Network was acquired by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns KTLA 5.
