WWE Raw moving to Netflix as part of new 10-year, $5 billion TV rights deal

WWE on Netflix

For the first time since its inception, WWE Raw will be leaving traditional cable and moving to Netflix as part of a new decade-long TV rights deal that also has international components.

WWE announced the news Tuesday morning, stating the new era will kick off in January 2025.

It was not confirmed which day the show will air. During an appearance with Pat McAfee, WWE CEO Nick Khan laid out compelling competition reasons for moving while also pointing out their track record of success on Mondays against the NFL and that they have nearly 11 months to figure everything out 

While Variety initially reported the deal was worth $400 million annually and “believed to run more than five years,” both CNBC’s Alex Sherman and the Sports Business Journal reported the deal is for 10 years and more than $5 billion in total value.

Raw will be seen not just in the United States, but also Canada, the United Kingdom, Latin America and other countries and regions over time according to the release.

Also part of the deal, Netflix will become the primary home outside the United States for WWE shows like Raw, SmackDown and NXT in addition to premium live events, documentaries, and original series traditionally seen on WWE Network. That element also begins in 2025.

Regarding the years on the deal, Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics noted an interesting fact from the TKO SEC filings that could see the deal be as short as five years or as long as 20 years depending on what Netflix wants:

Adding some additional intrigue is that WWE’s current deal with NBCU expires in October 2024, leaving a question of where Raw will air between that time and when the Netflix deal begins. The Variety report stated that where Raw will air during that time is still being determined.

An additional note came late from CNBC regarding how Raw’s content will be treated for Netflix’s ad-based and premium users:

“Netflix announced earlier this month it had 23 million (monthly active users) for its advertising tier, which the company launched in November 2022. Matches will be scripted around commercial breaks to satisfy ad-free customers, who will see continued action from live matches that aren’t important to the outcome, such as a wrestler in a sustained headlock, according to a person familiar with the matter.”

Monthly active users (MAUs) are not considered the same as subscribers. As of now, Netflix doesn’t break out the totals per group.

This completes the set of domestic TV rights for WWE that were up this year. SmackDown will move to NBCUniversal and NXT will move to The CW, both in October 2024.

The domestic rights for the WWE Network and PLEs, currently with NBCU, is up in March 2026 along with the UFC’s domestic TV rights currently with ESPN up in 2025, meaning another financial windfall is coming in the years ahead for TKO.

It also comes on a day when Dwayne Johnson was named to the TKO Board of Directors and has retained full ownership of “The Rock” trademark as part of the deal.

This is the first true foray for Netflix (247 million subscribers) into weekly live sports/sports entertainment after they have experimented in the past with a Chris Rock comedy special and a live finale of their “Love is Blind” — the latter of which saw major technical issues that were blamed on a technical glitch.

TKO COO Mark Shapiro told Sports Business Journal that there are no concerns about Netflix being able to handle a weekly live show, saying “the timeframe of the deal gives Netflix and WWE a year to prepare for the move, and added he anticipates massive support from Netflix to make the sure program is a success.”

Shapiro also said the length of the deal was a key point in making the deal. In a quote that that is assumed to be speaking from the Netflix point of view, he said, “An early hangup on this deal was that we’re not renters. We love to own. So if we can’t own, then we want a long enough commitment, that if we pour our heart and soul into this partnership, you’re not gonna leave us three years later.”