Netflix announced on Tuesday that it has struck a deal with TK Holding to hold exclusive rights to WWE’s Raw. This new Netflix WWE deal will make Raw leave liner TV for first time in its history.
What’s in the new Netflix WWE Deal?
TK Holding is the parent company of WWE formed after its merger with Endeavor last year.
The deal is said to be worth more than $5 billion and will place WWE’s flagship weekly TV program on Netflix.
The initial agreement is for 10 years. However, Netflix has the option to opt-out or add 10 more years after the first 5.
Netflix will also stream Raw globally. The streaming platform will also host all WWE shows, including pay-per-view specials like WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, and SummerSlam outside of the US.
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.
TKO President and COO, Mark Shapiro
More on WWE RAW
WWE is currently tied to another deal with Comcast bringing RAW to the US Network.
It is expiring on January 2025 after which Netflix will begin airing RAW exclusively in the US, Canada, and other North and Latin America regions.
Incepted in 1993, RAW already has over 1600 episodes to its name. It is the number one TV show in its current networking bringing over 17.5 million unique viewers over the year.
It is the first time that WWE RAW is leaving linear TV programming for online streaming.
Netflix is Betting on Live Events
It is a 3-hour-long live TV program that airs weekly. This might be a potential problem for Netflix who is new to live programming.
We are excited to have WWE Raw, with its huge and passionate multigenerational fan base, on Netflix
Netflix Chief Content Officer, Bela Bajaria
The streaming platform only has a handful of live programs, most notably the Chris Rock comedy special Selective Outrage, The Netflix Cup and Love is Blind.
The latter is infamous for having its live reunion episode infected by “technical bugs” leading to Netflix apologizing to fans and releasing a taped version later.
With the Netflix deal in place, WWE now has access to the streaming platform’s 247 million global subscribers.
The Other Big WWE News
TKO experienced a 15% spike in its share. But its not clear if all that is because of the new Netflix WWE deal as there was another important announcement about Dwayne Johnson joining TKO’s board of directors.
The wrestler turned actor also shared that he now has full ownership of his “The Rock” moniker.
Being on the TKO Board of Directors, and taking full ownership of my name, ‘The Rock’, is not only unprecedented, but incredibly inspiring as my crazy life is coming full circle
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
This news comes amidst speculation by fans that he is preparing of in-ring return against the undisputed WWE Universal champion Romain Reigns.
He had made a surprise appearance on RAW few weeks earlier.
