The agreement that was made official yesterday is one that we did not expect to see in 2024. Although it is true that it does not completely surprise us, since last year there was speculation about the arrival of sports broadcasting to streaming services.
WWE has arrived to a major agreement with Netflix, in which their main weekly professional wrestling program will begin to be exclusively streamed on the streaming giant starting in January 2025.
The agreement is valued at 500 million dollars per year for 10 years, which represents a commitment of 5 billion dollars from Netflix.
Terms of a billion-dollar agreement
Netflix has the option to withdraw after the initial five years and extend it for another 10 years. According to sources, the current five-year agreement between WWE and NBCUniversal for the rights to “Raw” in the US is valued between 250 and 260 million dollars per year.
The current agreement between WWE and NBCUniversal includes the broadcast of “Raw” on USA Network until October 2024. According to a person familiar with the situation, it is still being determined exactly where “Raw” will be broadcasted between the end of that agreement and the start of the agreement with Netflix.
Under the agreement, Netflix will become the exclusive home of “Raw” in the US, Canada, the UK, Latin America, and other territories once the agreement begins, with more countries and regions being added over time. This includes the weekly shows “SmackDown” and “NXT”, as well as live annual events like WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Royal Rumble, in addition to documentaries, original series, and additional projects.
The agreement is the final step in the latest round of WWE television rights agreements. Previously, the sale of the rights to “SmackDown” to NBCUniversal and USA Network was announced in a five-year, $1.4 billion deal.
The acquisition of the rights to “Raw” consolidates Netflix’s push into live programming, its major pending issue. We are looking forward to seeing WWE on Netflix and how it impacts its audience.
