Completing the last of its media rights deals, WWE announced a deal on Tuesday to broadcast its flagship show, Monday Night Raw, on Netflix starting in January 2025. The deal is worth $500 million per year for 10 years, with the streaming service owning an opt-out after five years and the ability to extend for another 10 years.
As part of the deal, Netflix will exclusively stream Raw in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Latin America and gradually add other countries and regions. It will also host all WWE shows outside of the U.S., including SmackDown, NXT, and live events such as WrestleMania and the Royal Rumble, as well as documentaries, original series, and other projects.
As a report by Variety noted, USA Network has been airing Raw in a deal worth $250-260 million per year with NBCUniversal. Therefore, the new agreement with Netflix will approximately double the rights fee that WWE will receive.
This deal will mark the first time Raw has not aired on linear network television, meaning come January 2025, anyone who wants to watch WWE’s premier show must own a Netflix subscription. Pricing tiers currently range from $6.99 to $22.99 per month.
WWE directing fans to a streaming service for its product is not uncharted territory. Peacock, with a subscription required, has been the exclusive home of premium live events since 2021. The WWE Network hosted this content beforehand. However, the idea of sending fans to a streaming service once a week, every week of the year, is a foreign concept.
After completing the Raw media rights deal, WWE has now secured homes for all of its weekly shows beyond 2025. Previously, WWE signed a deal with NBCUniversal for SmackDown to air on USA Network, and NXT will be shown on The CW. Both contracts will become effective in the fall of 2024. So, by the end of the year, the WWE viewing experience, as fans know it, will begin a long-term change.
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