Netflix announced on Tuesday a long-term broadcast agreement with the WWE professional wrestling juggernaut, as the streaming giant expands into sporting events.
Beginning in 2025 in the United States, Netflix will be the exclusive new home of “Raw,” the WWE’s flagship programme that has been broadcast on television since 1993.
Netflix and WWE
The agreement also calls for WWE shows and live events to be streamed around the world as their rights become available.
With an initial 10-year term worth $5 billion, the deal allows Netflix to extend for another ten years or opt out after the first five years.
10-year term
“This deal is transformative,” said Mark Shapiro, president of TKO, WWE’s parent company.
“It marries the can’t-miss WWE product with Netflix’s extraordinary global reach and locks in significant and predictable economics for many years,” he went on to say.
The three-hour show has boosted the careers of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and John Cena, among others.
It is currently the most popular show on NBCUniversal’s USA network in the United States. The WWE is a ratings powerhouse, owing much of its success to entrepreneur and promoter Vince McMahon.
After purchasing the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from his father in 1982, he transformed the second-rate league into an entertainment powerhouse.
The league, which was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment in 2002, exceeded a billion dollars in annual sales last year.
The agreement represents another step by streaming giants to expand their portfolio of live sporting events.
Netflix acquired the rights to a tennis match between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz last month, and it previously broadcast a golf tournament featuring Formula One drivers and pros.
Amazon announced last week that it would invest $115 million in Diamond Sports Group, the largest network of local sports channels in the United States, acquiring regional rights to sports ranging from hockey to basketball.
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