Broadcast Sport: Netflix to show live WWE from 2025

Story from Broadcast Sport:

Netflix has picked up the rights to air live WWE. From January 2025 Netflix will show WWE’s weekly program, Raw.

The deal marks the first time Raw leaves linear television since its inception 31 years ago.

Netflix will become the exclusive new home of Raw in the US, Canada, U.K. and Latin America, among other territories. Additional countries and regions will be added over time.

As part of the deal, Netflix will also become the home for all WWE shows and specials outside the US, inclusive of Raw and WWE’s other weekly shows – SmackDown and NXT – as well as the company’s Premium Live Events, including WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble.

WWE’s documentaries, original series and forthcoming projects will also be available on Netflix internationally from 2025.

Mark Shapiro, TKO president and COO, said: “This deal is transformative. 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 chief content officer, Bela Bajaria, adds: “We are excited to have WWE Raw, with its huge and passionate multigenerational fan base, on Netflix. 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.”

Nick Khan, WWE President, said: “In its relatively short history, Netflix has engineered a phenomenal track record for storytelling. 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.”

Raw has aired 1,600 episodes to date, and first debut in 1993. The three-hour show “blends scripted content with unpredictable live entertainment,” says WWE. Raw helped launch the careers of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Triple H, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Bianca Belair and Charlotte Flair.

The show is currently the No. 1 show on USA Network, where it brings in 17.5 million unique viewers over the course of the year. On social media, WWE has more than one billion followers across its platforms.