World Wrestling Entertainment, better known as WWE, has survived scandal, controversy and seismic shifts in the media business. Next week, the pro wrestling franchise enters yet another new arena: Netflix.
Starting Monday at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, WWE’s popular weekly wrestling program “Raw” will stream exclusively on the streaming giant in the U.S., marking the first time in more than 30 years that it will not broadcast on linear TV.
For Netflix, it’s the latest in a series of moves to grow the streamer’s live TV business in an effort to increase viewership, subscribers and advertising dollars. For WWE, it’s a chance to gain a massive global audience.
WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque, himself a former pro wrestler, said the move to Netflix — with its 283 million global subscribers — is a “game changer” for the franchise.
“The reach and how much that can expand our base … when you look at shows they do and the freedom that they have within that, it is a game changer for us,” Levesque said at a media event last month in Hollywood. “This, at the end of it, is going to be called the Netflix era, because that’s where the big change is.”
First launched in 1993 on cable TV’s USA Network, “Raw” led to boom periods for the genre, said David Meltzer, a wrestling historian, the editor and publisher of Wrestling Observer Newsletter and longtime chronicler of the WWE.
“Raw” is known for promoting the careers of prominent wrestlers like the Rock (Dwayne Johnson), Triple H and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin who launched to fame during the “Attitude Era,” which ran from the late ‘90s to early 2000s. Some of the biggest stars, such as Johnson and John Cena, found success outside of the ring in movies and TV.
Meltzer called the deal with Netflix the “next evolution” for WWE, and an important step as viewers — particularly younger audiences — have migrated from traditional television channels to streaming.
“With the decline in TV, it’s probably good to have eggs in the cable and streaming baskets,” he said. “They reach somewhat different audiences, there are people who don’t have Netflix and have USA Network, so it covers all the bases.”
The 10-year agreement with Netflix is valued at more than $5 billion, according to a regulatory filing. After five years, Netflix has the option to exit or extend the deal for another 10 years, according to the deal’s terms. Netflix has the exclusive rights to “Raw” in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Latin America and will also be able to stream the show globally.
In 2023, WWE said it had signed a five-year broadcast rights deal for its other big weekly telecast, “SmackDown,” to air on the USA Network after its contract with Fox expired. Under the Netflix deal, the streamer will also be the home for other WWE programs and specials outside of the U.S. such as “SmackDown,” “NXT,” “WrestleMania,” “SummerSlam” and “Royal Rumble.”
“What it means is there’s going to be a lot more eyeballs on WWE than there ever were in the past on a global basis,” said Brandon Ross, an analyst at New York-based research firm LightShed Partners.
Ross said putting “Raw” on Netflix provides stability in the streaming era and could spur more fandom and allow WWE to make more money from touring and sponsorships.
Netflix executives said they were attracted by WWE’s loyal, multigenerational audience. “Raw” also adds to Netflix’s live offerings, which have included NFL games, boxing matches and comedy specials that can draw massive viewership and attract advertisers.
The move to Netflix is the latest in a string of changes for WWE in recent years.
In September 2023, talent agency owner Endeavor acquired the WWE and merged it with mixed martial arts league Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC, creating a $21.4-billion fighting sports and entertainment powerhouse, TKO Group Holdings.
Publicly traded TKO is led by Endeavor chief Ari Emanuel, while UFC’s president Dana White was named its chief executive. Wrestling impresario Vince McMahon, WWE’s former CEO, was tapped to serve as TKO’s executive chairman.
McMahon, who was credited with much of WWE’s success, stepped down from the role in January 2024, one day after a former WWE employee, Janel Grant, sued the company, McMahon and former head of talent relations John Laurinaitis, alleging sexual assault, trafficking and emotional abuse. Grant claimed that McMahon agreed to pay her $3 million in exchange for her silence.
At the time of Grant’s suit, a spokesperson for McMahon said in a statement to The Times that Grant’s lawsuit was “replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and a vindictive distortion of the truth.”
TKO has said that McMahon is no longer involved in the company.
McMahon had previously stepped down as WWE’s CEO in June 2022 following revelations that he paid millions in hush money to multiple women between 2006 and 2022 to silence allegations of sexual misconduct.
A WWE board investigation found that McMahon made at least $14.6 million in payments for “alleged misconduct,” according to regulatory filings. McMahon denied the claims of sexual misconduct. He returned to the company’s board in early 2023 as it explored strategic alternatives. (Linda McMahon, Vince’s estranged wife, is now President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Education secretary).
Despite controversy, WWE has endured and continues to bring in money. Last year, WWE’s revenue hit $1.3 billion, up 3%, according to the company’s 2023 annual report. TKO’s stock has risen 43% since it went public. Executives are counting on the Netflix deal to continue the momentum.
WWE’s President Nick Khan said a series of steps took place to enable the Netflix deal to happen, including Netflix’s Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria, who was promoted to the role in 2023.
Bajaria called this a “full-circle moment” for her. When her family moved from London to L.A. when she was a young girl, she would watch WWF (or World Wrestling Federation, the organization’s earlier name) with her grandfather, who loved Andre the Giant.
So when TKO executives approached her about a year and half ago about WWE, she was interested.
“First and foremost, as a fan, all those early memories came flooding back,” Bajaria said at a media event last month. “The more I learned about the business of wrestling, the more I felt like this could actually work.”
“Raw” could deliver a significant audience for Netflix. The series averages more than 1.7 million viewers in the U.S. on a weekly basis, according to LightShed Partners. The show has more than 1,600 episodes and has drawn celebrities like Bad Bunny to participate in matches.
“In the WWE, you really have one of the most enduring and resilient programs out there,” said Brandon Riegg, Netflix’s vice president of nonfiction series and sports, at the media event. “I think it fits in with a lot of the programming that we do, and it also expands the audience that maybe we don’t have as much of an offering for right now.”
When it launches on Netflix, WWE “Raw” will still be a family-friendly, multigenerational program, Khan said. He said Netflix’s international reach was a big draw. “We can’t just be an American company, piping out American content, hoping that people will show up and tune in,” Khan said. “We have to be boots on the ground.”
WWE star Drew McIntyre said “Raw” going to Netflix could boost the careers of top pro wrestlers.
“Our product is so gigantic … but I’m kind of curious to see how much it’s going to creep up in countries like America specifically, and just where you’re going to start to see WWE superstars popping up, maybe on other Netflix shows,” McIntyre said in an interview.
“I got a sneaking suspicion that my personal life outside my house is over,” he added. “But we’ll see, which is fine — just as long as wrestling gets as big as possible.”
Netflix delved into launching live events on its streaming service last year, first with a Chris Rock comedy special. Since then, it has livestreamed sports tournaments, a hot dog eating competition, Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Tom Brady roast and NFL games. The football games, which streamed on Christmas Day, drew an average of more than 30 million global viewers.
Netflix drew criticism last month for buffering issues during its boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson. The streamer said it worked quickly to stabilize the viewing for the majority of its subscribers during the boxing event. The Tyson versus Paul match drew 65 million concurrent streams. Since then, Netflix has improved its systems to better handle live events.
When Netflix executives discussed the issue last month at a media event, Levesque said it didn’t bother him.
“I’ll just say, if it blinks a couple of times and we do 60 million, I’m good with that,” Levesque quipped.
