WWE Raw is coming to Netflix, with the change due to take place early next year. This is a fairly major deal for Netflix, considering its current focus on becoming more involved in live sports and events. The change will also be a fairly major one for Raw as well, considering it will be the first time Monday Night Raw has left linear television in 31 years.
Beginning in January 2025, the change will take place in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Latin America, among other territories. The announcement also confirms that Raw on Netflix will eventually become available in additional countries and regions in the future.
Speaking of international markets, the agreement will see Netflix becoming home to all WWE shows and specials, including Raw, SmackDown and NXT, outside the U.S. This is in addition to premium live events like WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble.
“This deal is transformative,” said Mark Shapiro, TKO President and COO. “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.”
At present, NBC, through its USA Network channel and Peacock streaming service, handles a lot of WWE content in the United States. While this deal does confirm some of that content will move over to Netflix in 2025, it looks like premium live events will continue to be handled by NBC in the U.S. for now.
As mentioned, Netflix has actively been looking to get more involved in live events and sports in recent years, and has already hosted individual live events, including the upcoming ‘Netflix Slam’ live tennis match between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz. However, this deal not only secures the rights to popular programming, but it also means Netflix subscribers will have access to regular live events with new shows streaming each week.
While NBC’s USA Network will be losing access to Raw, NBC did agree a deal last year for Smackdown. Last year also saw confirmation that WWE NXT is moving to The CW Network. Both of these changes are due to take effect from October 2024.
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