WWE fans hoping to watch Friday Night SmackDown live on Peacock are going to be left waiting, and there is now a clear explanation for why that is the case.

On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer revealed that NBCUniversal is deliberately keeping SmackDown off of Peacock’s live stream in order to protect the program’s traditional TV ratings on the USA Network.

During a conversation about Saturday Night’s Main Event shifting to Peacock as a streaming exclusive, Meltzer stressed that this decision was not about technical limitations but about ratings.

“The only reason you would not stream SmackDown live on Peacock, the only reason, is for fear of [hurting] TV ratings on USA Network… and obviously by this choice, what that tells you is, is that TV ratings of SmackDown on USA Network are exceedingly important to NBC right now. Because if they weren’t, they would be trying to build up their Peacock service with SmackDown every single week.”

Meltzer further explained that if the main goal was boosting Peacock subscriptions, SmackDown would already be airing live on the service. Instead, NBCUniversal has opted for a 30-day delay before episodes are added to streaming, which highlights where the company’s true focus is.

“If you’re really trying to build streaming retention, SmackDown weekly on Peacock is your ticket. But they’re keeping that 30-day window before SmackDown hits streaming. That’s a clear signal about where their priorities are.”

While NBCUniversal has chosen to move Saturday Night’s Main Event to streaming in hopes of strengthening Peacock, SmackDown remains firmly tied to cable.

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