By Andrew Wallenstein

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Sci Fi Channel is getting into the ring with wrestling.

The cable network is following its NBC Universal sibling USA Network into a deal with World Wrestling Entertainment for a weekly series devoted to a WWE spinoff league, Extreme Championship Wrestling.

Beginning June 13, the yet-to-be-titled series will air at 10 p.m. Tuesdays on the network through the rest of the summer. Bonnie Hammer, president of USA and Sci Fi, hopes the latter channel gets the same ratings lift that USA has gotten from WWE's "Raw."

"This is going to be a great summer series for us," Hammer said.

She cited research documenting an overlap among Sci Fi's viewers and WWE fans. "It's a huge duplication," she said. "Close to 50% who watch 'Raw' watch Sci Fi as well."

As for how a wrestling franchise fits within the parameters of the Sci Fi brand, Hammer said the series is being developed to match the sensibility of the channel's "stretching the imagination" theme. "It will have a nice little twist that will fit in the brand," she said.

While the ECW is scheduled to run only in the summer, Hammer did not rule out extending its run year-round a la "Raw" if it proved successful.

"ECW on Sci Fi will push the boundaries of sports entertainment in new and unexpected ways," WWE chairman Vince McMahon said.

In recent weeks, WWE has been incorporating ECW into its story lines, positioning it to be a standalone series opposite "Raw" and UPN's "Smackdown," which will continue next season on the CW. The ECW franchise also has been a brisk seller for WWE on DVD and pay-per-view since McMahon acquired the brand in 2003.