VIDEO : NBCUniversal Declines To Re-Up Deal With WWE 'Smackdown'

There's a big live-sports rights deal up for grabs. Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that WWE's Smackdown is being shopped to various networks after NBCUniversal ? whose USA Network has aired the highly-rated pro wrestling matches ? declined to re-up its deal. At the time, NBCUni is said to have paid $30 million for rights to the franchise. The show began airing that year on Syfy, with corporate sibling USA Network heavily promoting it. At the time, USA aired five hours of live WWE programming a week. Disney and ESPN earlier this month inked their first-ever multiyear deal for digital rights to live UFC Fight Night events in a pact worth $750 million ($150 million annually) starting in January 2019.