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.

Picking up right where the first film ends, Culpa Tuya pushes Nick and Noah deeper into infatuation, while their parents, William and Rafaella, attempt to drive a wedge between the step-siblings. Enter Sofia—a seductive and ‘more suitable’ match for Nick—and the tension escalates as Noah struggles with the emotional toll of his long-distance relationship. But the drama doesn’t stop here: lingering personal trauma and vengeful figures from their past add further strain to the couple’s bond.

Despite its label as a young adult romantic drama, the Culpa series seems to grapple with genre identity. Where Culpa Mia leaned into erotic territory, this sequel’s intimate scenes feel less organic, much like Noah’s tenuous relationship with her university counsellor, Michael. The thriller elements, teased in the first film through Noah’s menacing father, expand in the sequel with the arrival of Nick’s obsessive ex-girlfriend and estranged biological mother. Yet, the film never fully commits to any of these genres, opting instead to flirt with each one without anchoring itself in any. Perhaps, in embodying the unpredictability of Gen Z relationships—where infidelity feels almost inevitable—it stays truest to its young adult roots.

With interesting subplots and conflicts being created from all ends, Culpa Tuya errs a little too much on the side of caution. At the end, it still only manages to do what all other romantic dramas do, which is throw a spanner into a smooth-sailing relationship. The lead pair keep doubting each other while fighting their own demons, but not once do they try to understand their respective trauma. The continued use of ‘baby sister’ as a pet name from Nick—despite their long-term relationship—feels uncomfortably cringe. 

Culpable for its predictability, the film still manages to shine through from time to time. A surprising revelation and an unresolved ending set the stage for a potentially more refined and gripping third instalment, expected in 2025. However, rekindling the chemistry between the leads is essential, as their dynamic feels notably less intense here than in the first film. Despite its flaws, Culpa Tuya remains an irresistible guilty pleasure. Sometimes, the fun of watching a film also comprises finding fault with it—and that’s perfectly all right.

Neil Young is back on the bill at Glastonbury.

Three days after announcing that he’d pulled out of a planned performance at this year’s edition of the venerable English music festival, the 79-year-old rock legend said Friday that the gig was “happily” back on his touring itinerary and that he and his collaborators “look forward to playing.”

Young had written Tuesday on his website that he and his band the Chrome Hearts “were told that BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in. It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being.”

On Friday, Young updated his post and blamed an unspecified “error in the information received” for his cancellation.

“What a start to the year!” festival organizer Emily Eavis wrote on Instagram shortly after Young’s announcement that he’d reversed his decision. “Neil Young is an artist who’s very close to our hearts at Glastonbury. He does things his own way and that’s why we love him.”

According to the Guardian, Young tussled with the BBC — which the paper said has partnered with Glastonbury for nearly three decades — when he headlined the festival in 2009 over how much of his set it could broadcast.

In March, Young put his music back on Spotify after pulling his catalog in 2022 to protest what he described as vaccine misinformation spread by podcaster Joe Rogan.

Young announced Friday that he’ll issue a previously unreleased album called “Oceanside Countryside” on Feb. 14. The LP was recorded in 1977 and features two sets of songs: one performed solo by Young and one performed with accompaniment by Ben Keith, Rufus Thibodeaux, Karl T. Himmel, Joe Osborne, Tim Drummond and the Band’s Levon Helm.