Breaking: Netflix Secures WWE ‘Monday Night Raw’ Rights in Blockbuster 10-Year, $5 Billion Deal
“Raw” will become the streaming giant’s first regular live broadcast and first live sports rights.
There is a new champ in the world of sports entertainment, and it’s a streaming service coming off of the top rope. In a landmark deal to acquire the flagship professional wrestling program on television, Netflix has secured the rights to the WWE’s “Monday Night Raw” for 10 years, beginning in January 2025. The deal is reportedly worth $5 billion and will move the weekly show from the USA Network to streaming for the first time.
- “Monday Night Raw” will air worldwide on Netflix beginning in 2025.
- The sports entertainment program will be the streamer’s first regular live program.
- The deal will last for 10 years and cost Netflix $5 billion.
The deal will see Netflix become the broadcast home for “Raw” in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Latin America while also becoming the home for the wrestling promotion’s other weekly shows “SmackDown” and “NXT,” as well as the monthly Premium Live Events, including Wrestlemania, Summer Slam, The Royal Rumble, and more, outside of the U.S. The domestic rights will remain with [Pecoack] at least through 2026. Last fall, it was announced that “Smackdown” would be leaving Fox and would move to the USA Network beginning in October 2024. At the time, the deal raised speculation that “Raw” would be on the move rather than have both of the WWE’s signature broadcasts on the same cable network.
“This deal is transformative,” TKO president and COO Mark Shapiro said. “It marries the can’t-miss WWE product with Netflix’s extraordinary global reach and locks in significant and predictable economics for many years. Our partnership fundamentally alters and strengthens the media landscape, dramatically expands the reach of WWE, and brings weekly live appointment viewing to Netflix.”
Netflix Finally Embraces Live Sports Broadcasting with WWE Deal
After hosting a series of live comedy specials, reality shows, and golf tournaments, “Raw” will become Netflix’s first regularly live broadcast. The world’s largest streamer first got into live programming with the Chris Rock standup special “Selective Outrage” in March 2023. It followed that up with a live reunion of cast members from the reality show “Love Is Blind,” which was admittedly far less technologically successful than the Rock special.
Then, after publicly discussing the possibility of adding live sports rights, Netflix aired its first-ever live sporting event last November where it paired Formula 1 racecar drivers with PGA golf professionals from its “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” and “Full Swing” in a golf tournament on the Las Vegas Strip.
Netflix had previously been hesitant to spend an ever-increasing amount of money on live sports rights because those types of deals are essentially rentals. At the end of the contract, Netflix is left with nothing except having to pay more money to keep the programming that it previously had on its service. That is why the streaming giant has been open about the possibility of purchasing smaller sports leagues and using its massive subscriber base to build them into larger programming commodities.
That is not the case with the WWE as the wrestling promotion was acquired by UFC parent company Endeavour last April forming the TKO Group. In November, there were reports that “Monday Night Raw” would be heading to a Disney-owned outlet, given the long-standing relationship between ESPN and UFC.
“We are excited to have WWE Raw, with its huge and passionate multigenerational fan base, on Netflix,” Netflix’s chief content officer Bela Bajaria said. “By combining our reach, recommendations, and fandom with WWE, we’ll be able to deliver more joy and value for their audiences and our members. Raw is the best of sports entertainment, blending great characters and storytelling with live action 52 weeks a year and we’re thrilled to be in this long-term partnership with WWE.”
What Type of Draw Will WWE Be on Netflix?
On USA, “Monday Night Raw” averages 17.5 million unique viewers every year, but that is exclusively from domestic broadcasting. At the end of the third quarter of 2023, Netflix reported having 247.15 million customers worldwide. The WWE is a global brand and the streaming service is banking on its international popularity being a major draw for new subscribers, but, perhaps more importantly, to keep current subscribers regularly engaged with the platform’s programming.
WWE president Nick Khan has long been open about the possibility of the promotion's cornerstone shows becoming streaming exclusives.
“In its relatively short history, Netflix has engineered a phenomenal track record for storytelling,” Khan said. “We believe Netflix, as one of the world’s leading entertainment brands, is the ideal long-term home for Raw’s live, loyal, and ever-growing fan base.”
Netflix
Netflix is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 3,000+ movies, 2,000+ TV Shows, and Netflix Originals like Stranger Things, Squid Game, The Crown, Tiger King, and Bridgerton. They are constantly adding new shows and movies. Some of their Academy Award-winning exclusives include Roma, Marriage Story, Mank, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.