NXT is about to enter a new era. On Tuesday, WWE and USA Network announced a multi-year extension with NXT, which will now move to Tuesday nights starting April 13. The show has been on Wednesday nights since launching on the USA Network in September 2019.
“We are thrilled to continue WWE and NBCUniversal’s longstanding partnership with the extension of NXT on USA Network,” Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Global Talent Strategy & Development, said in a press release. “The move to Tuesdays provides a new opportunity for us to grow the NXT brand and enables our partner, USA Network, to continue to build its strong portfolio of sports and entertainment programming.”
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In 2020, NXT averaged 847,000 total viewers on Wednesday nights. And when the show had special Tuesday episodes, viewership was strong, delivering gains of nearly +30% among the key 18-49 and 25-54 demos. Over the past year, NXT competed with rival wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling with its flagship show, AEW: Dynamite. The move on Tuesday will increase more viewers and likely gain new WWE fans.
“We are incredibly proud of our three-decade partnership with WWE and in extending USA’s NXT deal, we are further establishing our portfolio as an unrivaled home for quality WWE content,” Frances Berwick, Chairman, Entertainment Networks, NBCU, said. “By transitioning NXT to a Tuesday timeslot where WWE has performed well in the past, we are giving our passionate fanbase more of what they love with back-to-back nights of exhilarating, live programming.”
NXT will move to Tuesday nights right after its biggest pay-per-view event of the year – NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver (April 7-8). The first night of the show will air on the USA Network, while the second night will air on Peacock’s WWE Network. NXT’s move to Tuesday nights also happens right after WrestleMania 37 (April 10-11).
NXT is the birthplace of more than 80% of the current Raw and SmackDown rosters. Drew McIntyre competed in NXT when he returned to WWE in 2017 and recently told PopCulture.com it was something he wanted to do. “It’s not developmental; it’s a third brand,” McIntyre said when talking about NXT. “It’s an amazing brand. I wanted to start there. There’s where the passionate hardcore niche fanbase are that knew what I was all about and somebody with my experience can make a difference.”
