Netflix gets into the ring with WWE - live wrestling incoming

Well, this is massive: it’s been revealed that Netflix is getting into live events in the biggest way possible, nabbing the rights for WWE Raw (in the US) and Wrestlemania and Smackdown for other territories.

It’s a 10-year deal, according to THR, which will begin in 2025 and sees Netflix take its live events business to a whole other level.

It’s only been recently that Netflix has done live TV, with a live Love Is Blind episode, a Chris Rock standup and a celebrity golf tournament, dubbed The Netflix Cup.

Teaming up with WWE is a huge change for the service, which will be hoping that this foray into event TV will give it a reason to keep regular subscribers and find some new ones, too.

Grabbing the rights to something like WWE comes at a massive cost, with it thought to be around $5 billion dollars that Netflix has spent. Given just how big WWE is in the world of entertainment, it’s a guaranteed fan base it is buying into.

Live events is something that all of the streamers are looking into. Apple took the biggest step with its MLS Pass, while Amazon has looked to live tennis and Premier League football games to boot subscribers. The latter it has lost out on, thanks to a new round of rights bidding.

Netflix and WWE is huge, though. It means that the streaming giant will showcase Raw to the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Latin America. It also means that outside the US, Wrestlemania, documentaries and original series will also be shown.

Speaking about the deal, Netflix chief content officer, Bela Bajaria said: “We are excited to have WWE Raw, with its huge and passionate multigenerational fan base, on Netflix.

“By combining our reach, recommendations, and fandom with WWE, we’ll be able to deliver more joy and value for their audiences and our members. Raw is the best of sports entertainment, blending great characters and storytelling with live action 52 weeks a year and we’re thrilled to be in this long-term partnership with WWE.”

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