WWE issued the following press release to announce a new television deal in
WWE (NYSE: WWE) and TV5 today announced a new agreement to broadcast WWE’s flagship program SmackDown® in the Philippines on TV5 beginning this Sunday, April 30.
Every week, TV5 will televise a one-hour edition of SmackDown on Sundays at 3PM. Fans will be able to follow their favorite WWE Superstars on SmackDown, including AJ Styles™, The New Day™, Randy Orton™, Charlotte Flair™, Shinsuke Nakamura™, Kevin Owens™ and Naomi™. In addition to the broadcast on TV5, SmackDown will be simulcast online at TV5.com.ph and Sports.tv5.com.ph.
“TV5 shares our vision and desire for engaging and entertaining fans in the Philippines,” said Ed Wells, WWE Executive Vice President, International. “This new partnership to televise SmackDown showcases the continuing global growth of WWE while creating a destination for WWE fans in the Philippines to enjoy our unique blend of action-packed, family fun entertainment.”
TV5 President Chot Reyes added: “In the industry of sports entertainment, WWE is second to none. It’s a proven, successful, model organization and an esteemed, iconic brand. We at TV5 are honored and excited to be the platform that delivers WWE to the free TV audience.”
Powell’s POV: The company’s deal with FOX Philippines expired without a new agreement earlier this month. We assumed at the time that the company likely had another deal in the works, and this announcement essentially confirms that speculation.
Does the online simulcast broadcast the entire show? The tv5 airing cuts out too much, not only due to it being shortened to 1 hour, but also because of frequent commercial breaks. I don’t think it shows a single complete match.
And what of Raw, NXT and the PPVs?