WWE SmackDown

WWE SmackDown, also known as Thursday Night SmackDown, simply known as SmackDown is a sports entertainment television program that debuted on August 26, 1999. Prior to September 1, 2005, SmackDown! was broadcast on Thursday nights; from September 9, 2005 to January 9, 2015, it was broadcast on Friday nights. The show returned to Thursday nights on January 15, 2015. SmackDown! originally debuted in the United States on the UPN television network on April 29, 1999, but after the merger of UPN and the WB, SmackDown! began airing on The CW in September 2006. The show remained on the CW network for two years until it was moved to MyNetworkTV in October 2008. SmackDown moved to Syfy on October 1, 2010 and remained there until December 31, 2015. A week later, on January 7, 2016, SmackDown moved to its sister channel, USA Network. It complements WWE Raw as the second of WWE's two main weekly programs. Since its first episode, WWE SmackDown! has been broadcast from 162 different arenas, in 147 cities and towns, in seven different nations (the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Iraq in 2006 and 2007 for specials Tribute to the Troops, Japan in 2005, Italy in 2007 and Mexico in 2011). Due to time differences, SmackDown! premieres a few hours earlier in Ireland and the United Kingdom and a day earlier in Australia, Canada, Singapore and Philippines than the United States, except for live episodes. For international broadcast listings, see below. The show celebrated its 15th anniversary on October 10, 2014.