David Farnor | On 24, Jan 2024

Netflix is making a big move into sports programming with a new deal to become the new home of WWE Raw.

The long-term partnership will bring WWE’s flagship weekly program to the streaming platform from 2025 onwards. It marks the first time that Raw will leave linear TV since its inception 31 years ago.

Beginning in January 2025, Netflix will be the exclusive new home of Raw in the US, Canada, U.K. and Latin America, among other territories, with additional countries and regions to be added over time. Netflix will also become the home for all WWE shows and specials outside the US as available, 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 award-winning documentaries, original series and forthcoming projects will also be available on Netflix internationally beginning in 2025.

“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.”

Since its debut in 1993, Raw has racked up 1,600 episodes to date. Blending scripted content with unpredictable live entertainment, the three-hour show has 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. One of television’s best performing shows in the 18-49 advertising demographic, Raw trends on X 52 weeks a year while each new episode is airing. On social media, WWE has more than one billion followers across its platforms.

The move marks Netflix’s continuing shift in strategy to combat a decline in subscribers at the start of last year, while facing growing competition and financial headwinds. In the last quarter of 2023, the streamer added 13.1 million subscribers overall, as the company cracked down on people sharing passwords to their accounts.

The move also marks a significant change in strategy for WWE, which attempted to launch its own streaming service – WWE Network – back in 2014. Ten years on, Netflix will essentially be replacing that standalone subscription service for UK viewers – in the USA, WWE Network transitioned into a pay-per-view service through NBC’s Peacock in 2021.

“We are excited to have WWE Raw, with its huge and passionate multigenerational fan base, on Netflix,” said Netflix Chief Content Officer, Bela Bajaria. “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.”

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

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