Smackdown Tickets : The Show's Name Is Also Used To Refer To The Smackdown Brand

WWE SmackDown is a sports entertainment television program for WWE. As of 2010[update] it airs on Syfy in the United States as WWE Friday Night SmackDown. The show's name is also used to refer to the SmackDown brand, in which WWE employees are assigned to work and perform on that program; the other program and brand currently being Raw. It is currently the only television broadcast for the SmackDown brand, though at one point WWE Velocity also featured SmackDown branded wrestling.

From its launch in 1999, SmackDown broadcast on Thursday nights, but on September 9, 2005, the show moved to Friday nights. The show 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 2006. The show remained on the CW network for two years until it was announced that it would move to MyNetworkTV in October 2008. SmackDown moved to Syfy on October 1, 2010.

Due to time differences, SmackDown premieres a few hours earlier in Ireland and UK and a day earlier in Australia, India and Philippines than the United States. For international broadcast listings, see below.The early set featured an oval-shaped TitanTron entrance and stage (dubbed the "OvalTron") which made it stand out from the Raw set with its rectangular TitanTrons. Later productions gained the ability to move the OvalTron either to the left or to the right of the stage.

Throughout the show's early existence, The Rock routinely called SmackDown! "his" show, in reference to the fact that the name was derived from one of his catchphrases, "Layeth 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 entrance stage saw Alliance member Rhyno Gore federation member Chris Jericho through the center screen, destroying part of the set. The new set consisted of a fist centered above the entrance, and many glass panes along the sides strongly resembling shattered glass.

The premiere of Smack Down on SyFy followed a special "pre-game" show hosted by Michael Cole. Since this time, Cole has joined on the Smack Down commentating team and continues to at present to sell the "Voice of the WWE" moniker, since he now commentates for both brands. He most recently does his commentating via within a glass box dubbed the "Cole Mine", to coincide with his heel gimmick.

Due to the move to an NBC Universal Cable network, SmackDown is now advertised more frequently on Syfy's sister network, USA Network, which airs Raw. Same-week encores of SmackDown were also added to Universal HD's, and mun2's Saturday night schedule as a result of the move in the spot previously held by NXT and ECW. On February 4, 2011, Booker T made a return on SmackDown as a commentator replacing Matt Striker.