As ‘WWE Raw’ Moves to Netflix, Could Monday-Night Staple Air on New Night?
Netflix is reportedly spending $5 billion for 10 years of WWE programming; the streaming giant might want to avoid fighting the NFL for viewers.
For essentially the whole of its over 30-year reign as one of cable television’s most popular programs, WWE’s flagship show “Monday Night Raw” has lived on Monday nights — but now that sports entertainment's marquee show is moving from cable to Netflix is a move to a different day on the table? In all of Netflix’s press materials announcing the move, the show was only referred to as “Raw,” removing any reference to its traditional air date. Does that mean that when the WWE moves to the world’s largest streamer in 2025 that “Raw” could be on a new night?
- WWE CEO Nick Khan appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show” to discuss the WWE’s new deal with Netflix.
- Starting in January 2025, “WWE Raw” will exclusively air on Netflix in the United States, Canada, and other territories.
- Khan was asked if the show would stay on Mondays but offered no clear indication of the company’s plans.
Is ‘Raw’ Better Off on Another Night?
The question of whether the WWE would move its flagship program has been a source of speculation for months. In November, it was reported that the wrestling promotion was close to landing a deal to move “Raw” to a Disney-owned network, potentially ESPN or FX. At the time, this raised concerns over whether the weekly show would move to another night, since ESPN is already the home of “Monday Night Football.” So, even if “Raw” aired on FX or any channel other than ESPN, Disney might not want to pit two expensive products against each other.
While Netflix doesn’t have any similar programming conflicts, the specter of “MNF” could be enough to cause a change. The world’s largest streamer is already going to have to ask wrestling fans to change three decades’ worth of viewing habits in order to watch the show on streaming, Netflix might be looking to minimize the friction for customers by having “Raw” air on a night that has less competitive programming. The streamer reportedly is paying $5 billion over the 10-year life of the deal, so with that kind of investment, Netflix might put some pressure on WWE to avoid the NFL ratings behemoth.
During a Tuesday appearance on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” — McAfee is a WWE commentator and sometimes combatant — WWE CEO Nick Khan was asked about the potential for “Raw” to air on a new night under the new Netflix deal. The exec did not give a concrete answer, but he did say that a move away from Mondays was not out of the question. Khan didn’t rule out the possibility of moving “RAW” off Mondays, but didn’t definitively say that the company would make such a move, either.
“If we stay on Mondays, it will work,” Khan said. “If we move it to a different day, we think it will work too.”
Khan touted his company’s performance against the two College Football Playoff games that aired on Monday this year as a reason to stay — “RAW” managed to rate as a 0.6 in the key 18-49-year-old demographic against the two CFP games. However, moving forward, “RAW” still has to go against ESPN’s powerhouse “Monday Night Football” for half of the year. While no night is free from competition from sports, any opportunity to avoid a head-to-head faceoff with the NFL would likely be beneficial in terms of viewership.
“At this moment in time it remains as Monday Night RAW..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 23, 2024
We’re getting a massive rating against big competition..
If we stay on Monday it will work and if we move it to a different day it will work too”
Nick Khan #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/R68AjPOZZn
With professional football staking claim to Mondays and Thursdays — Prime Video airs “Thursday Night Football” during the season — and the WWE’s other marquee weekly show “SmackDown” airing on Fridays, that leaves Tuesday and Wednesday as potential landing spots for “Raw’ if it moves. The WWE’s chief rival in terms of sports entertainment is All-Elite Wrestling, which airs its weekly shows on Warner Bros. Discovery-owned networks TBS and TNT. The upstart promotion’s “AEW Dynamite” airs on TBS on Wednesday nights; “AEW Rampage” airs on Fridays alongside “Smackdown.”
So, if the WWE wants to avoid competing directly with AEW, Tuesday would be a logical option. But, the WWE’s developmental territory NXT runs its weekly show on Tuesday nights. So, unless there are further air-date changes, a Wednesday night matchup with AEW might be the best non-Monday option. Of course, throughout the company’s history, the WWE has never been afraid to go against rivals head-on. During the late 1990s, “Raw” aired directly opposite the WCW’s “Monday Nitro,” before the company folded and was purchased by WWE.
A History of WWE Programming Switching Days
While “RAW” has maintained its position on Monday nights for most of its 30+ years — outside of the odd Tuesday edition here and there — other WWE shows have moved days throughout their time on the air. Most notably, “SmackDown” started airing on UPN on Thursday nights when it was billed as “Thursday Night SmackDown.” The program has changed days as often as it has changed networks. “SmackDown” has also aired on Tuesday nights and currently airs on Friday nights on Fox. In October 2024, “SmackDown” will again swap networks, this time essentially replacing “Raw” on the USA Network, but continuing to air on Fridays.
“WWE NXT” initially ran its shows on Wednesday nights, but then moved to Tuesdays following the launch of “Dynamite.” NXT will move to The CW in October 2024.
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