WWE’s one of the most-watched live shows, RAW, has been airing on linear television networks for 31 years. WWE RAW has been the flagship show of WWE and the longest-running weekly episodic television show of all time. The promotion’s other shows, SmackDown and NXT, have confirmed their new deals with the USA Network and CW Network.
Rumors were speculating about RAW moving to Warner Brothers Discovery. Now, the WWE has officially announced that the red brand is set to stream on one of the top online streaming company, Netflix.
When will WWE RAW stream on Netflix?
Recently, after the announcement of The Rock as the member of Board of Directors in TKO Group Holdings, the WWE revealed their new deal with the Netflix, for streaming their flagship show, WWE RAW. WWE has officially announced that RAW will exclusively stream only on Netflix from January 2025.
After the announcement from the official social media account of WWE, the chief content creator of WWE, Triple H, shared his words on the new partnership. He added, “This partnership is one that will break new ground, and take @WWE to new heights. Thrilled to bring #WWERaw to @Netflix, coming January 2025. Now we change the game!!!!”
After this the WWE President, Nick Khan added, “In its relatively short history, Netflix has engineered a phenomenal track record for storytelling. We believe Netflix, as one of the world’s leading entertainment brands, is the ideal long-term home for Raw’s live, loyal, and ever-growing fan base.”
Monday Night RAW debuted on January 11, 1993 on USA Network, where it aired until September 25, 2000. It then moved to TNN (later Spike TV) from October 2, 2000 to September 26, 2005. It returned to USA Network on October 3, 2005 and still it has been streaming on USA Network.
Comparing WWE’s profit from Netflix deal to that of NBCUniversal
In September 2023, WWE made a deal with NBCUniversal, that brings the Friday Night SmackDown back to USA Network starting in October 2024. The deal is signed for five years domestic media rights, which allows NBCUniversal to stream Smackdown until October 2029. As per the reports, this is one of the most expensive deals of the company in recent days.
The deal is valued at over $1.4 billion, or an average of $287 million per year. Additionally, NBCUniversal’s streaming platform, Peacock, has been the exclusive home of WWE Network in the U.S. since 2021, offering thousands of hours of on-demand and live WWE programming for $4.99 per month.
However, the reports confirmed that the WWE and Netflix deal is reportedly worth more than $5 billion over 10 years, or an average of $500 million per year. As the numbers show a major difference, WWE’s deal with Netflix is groundbreaking compared to its deal with NBCUniversal.
WWE’s deal with USA Network has been rumored to expire on October 2024 and there is no official announcement on which platform RAW will be streamed between October 2024 and January 2025. However, Netflix’s new deal with WWE is surely deemed to be a success, gaining more subscribers for two of the biggest entertainment powerhouses.
