The flagship show for WWE is making a huge change. On Tuesday, the company announced that WWE Raw will leave the USA Network for Netflix in January 2025. The show will be on the streaming giant in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Latin America, and Netflix and will also be home to WWE content outside the country as it will stream live shows and premium events like WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble. This will be the first time WWE Raw will not be on linear television since its inception in 1993. The deal comes a few months after WWE and UFC merged to become TKO Group Holdings, Inc.
“This deal is transformative,” Mark Shapiro, TKO President and COO, said in a statement. “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.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
“We are excited to have WWE Raw, with its huge and passionate multigenerational fan base, on Netflix,” Netflix 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.”
WWE currently has three major shows it aris weekly — WWE Raw, WWE SmackDown and WWE NXT. SmackDown, which currently airs on Fox, will move to the USA Network later this year. NXT, which also airs on the USA Network will move to The CW in October. Peacock will remain the home of WWE premium events in the U.S. for now but could move to Netflix once its deal is up.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix will have the option to extend the agreement for another 10 years deal after the current deal is up. The streaming service will also have an option to exit the contract after five years.
“In its relatively short history, Netflix has engineered a phenomenal track record for storytelling,” added Nick Khan, WWE’s 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.” WWE Raw is the No. 1 show on the USA Network. The show has aired 1,600 episodes and helped launch the careers of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, John Cena and Roman Reigns.
