In a blockbuster move announced this morning, WWE’s Monday Night Raw, a long-time staple of cable TV, will ditch cable TV for streaming starting in 2025.
WWE’s flagship show, Raw, will move from the USA Network (it premiered on the network in 1993) to Netflix, ditching linear TV for the first time in thirty-one years.
Starting in January 2025, Netflix will be the exclusive home to Raw for viewers in the United States, Canada, the U.K., and Latin America, with additional regions being added down the road. Netflix will also become the home for WWE programming (including premium events like Wrestlemania) to viewers outside the United States.
It’ll be interesting to see if Raw on Netflix will continue to be three hours long or without commercials if the WWE can play around with Raw’s broadcast time week to week.
From WWE.com:
“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.”
“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.”
