WWE Friday Night SmackDown! is a professional wrestling television program for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) currently it is the only television broadcast for the SmackDown! brand. From its launch in 1999, SmackDown! was shown on Thursday nights, but as of September 9, 2005, the show moved to Friday nights. To reflect this change, the show is now referred to as Friday Night SmackDown!. The SmackDown! brand is currently one of WWE’s three brands, the other two being RAW and ECW.
It currently airs in the United States on The CW, in Canada on The Score Network and on CH Montreal,in Turkey on S’nek, in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan on Ten Sports, in Germany on DSF, in the UK and Republic of Ireland on Sky Sports 3, in Portugal on TVI, in the Dominican Republic on Antena Latina Channel 7, in Puerto Rico on Televicentro and on The CW, in Chile on Chilevisi?n, in Mexico on 52MX, in Australia on FOX8, in New Zealand on Sky 1, in the Philippines on Jack TV and RPN, in Peru on ATV , in Spain on Cuatro, in Romania on TV Sport, in Serbia on FOX Televizija, in Saudi Arabia and Arab World on Showtime Arabia ShowSports 1, in France on NT1, in Japan on J Sports, on e.tv in South Africa, on MTV3 MAX in Finland, on AFN Xtra, on the Super Channel (Channel 10) in Fiji Islands, on VTV in El Salvador and on Canal 9 on Argentina On Panama At Canal 4 Rpc.
SmackDown! as it was originally titled first appeared on April 29, 1999 as a single television special on UPN. On August 26, 1999, SmackDown! officially debuted on UPN, in Kansas City, Missouri. Like WCW Thunder, SmackDown! was recorded on Tuesdays and then broadcast on Thursdays. The new WWF show was so popular that WCW moved Thunder to Wednesdays in the hope of holding on to fans rather than losing them to WWF. SmackDown!, like Thunder, made heavy use of the color blue.
WWF SmackDown! logo (1999-2001)
WWF SmackDown! logo (1999-2001)
The first SmackDown! set was unique as it featured an oval-shaped TitanTron (which was dubbed the “OvalTron”), entrance and stage which made it stand out from the Raw set and its rectangular TitanTrons. An added feature to the original set was the ability for the OvalTron to be moved to either the left or right of the stage. Throughout the show’s early existence, top WWF superstar The Rock routinely called SmackDown! “his” show, in reference to the fact that the name was derived from one of his catchphrases, “Laying the smackdown.” In August 2001, as part of celebrating SmackDown!’s second anniversary, the show received a new logo and set. The last SmackDown! to use the previous television set saw Alliance member Rhyno Gore WWF member Chris Jericho through the center screen, destroying part of the set.