In an interview with TheWrap.com, ESPN Executive Vice President of Programming and Scheduling Burke Magnus explained why RAW and Smackdown didn’t end up with ESPN:
“We did talk to WWE during their process some months ago. Took a hard look at it, we’re obviously big fans of them. We just went into business with them on the XFL indirectly. But we couldn’t find a fit for it, primarily based on schedule.”
“As you know, those properties are 52 weeks a year live. And I’m proud to say we have a pretty good problem, which is that we can’t clear anything 52 weeks a year live. We have a pretty full portfolio of content as it is.”
“We parted ways and they got a good deal with their new partners, continuing at NBC (Universal’s USA Network) and adding Fox. So all’s well that ends well for them — but we gave it a good try.”
