WWE is expected to extend SmackDown back to three hours in early 2027, continuing a scheduling pattern the company has followed for the past two years.
According to WrestleVotes Radio, via Fightful Select, a USA Network source indicated that SmackDown is expected to return to the three-hour format in January. The current target date is 1/8/2027, though the timeline remains subject to change.
The move wouldn’t come as a major surprise. Dave Meltzer previously reported in the Wrestling Observer that the current plan calls for SmackDown to run three hours from January through June before reverting to two hours from July through December.
This year, for instance, the show expanded back to three hours on 1/2/2026. USA Network then cut the broadcast back to two hours starting 7/3/2026.
The third hour has been used for other network programming, including Everything on the Menu with Braun Strowman.
The same approach played out in 2025. SmackDown went to three hours in January and returned to its standard two-hour format in early July. If the 2027 plan holds, it will mark the third straight year the company has followed this cycle.
The WWE-USA Network relationship is part of a five-year deal for SmackDown’s U.S. broadcast rights, struck when the brand moved off FOX.