In a press release announcing that it has reached a deal for Netflix to become the new home of WWE Raw, TKO President and COO Mark Shapiro referred to the agreement as “transformative.”
Truth be told, that might be an understatement.
Entering 2024, where Raw would wind up figured to be one of the biggest sports media stories of the year. With WWE having already reached new deals for its two other weekly properties, SmackDown (NBC Universal’s USA Network) and NXT (The CW), all options were on the table, with Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney standing out as the two most obvious frontrunners, while John Ourand (then with Sports Business Journal) predicted that Amazon’s Prime Video would land WWE’s flagship show.
Netflix was mentioned at times too, albeit often as a footnote or in passing. While the streaming giant has shown an appetite for live programming, there’s a big difference between hosting a one-off Chris Rock comedy show or the Love Is Blind reunion and being the exclusive home of television’s longest-running weekly episodic program.
So while Netflix had been considered a contender, it still came as a shock to many when the deal was officially announced on Tuesday — and not just because of the 10-year, $5 billion price tag. Not only is Raw moving off linear television, where it has existed for its first 31 years of existence, but after years of speculation, Netflix has officially announced itself as a legitimate player in the world of live programming rights.
“It’s Netflix. They’re the global leader, the best company with regard to sports entertainment whether they’ve done it,” TKO CEO Ari Emanuel told CNBC on Tuesday. “This is kind of the next iteration as they go live.”
Asked if the move signaled the start of what’s to come, Emanuel deferred to Netflix. But it was also fairly easy to read between the lines of his answer.
“I think this is an important step for them in their AVOD (advertising video on demand) service and in their subscription service,” Emanuel said of Netflix. “So I think live is important for them, yes.”
At this point, the idea of streaming components being a part of media rights deals is nothing new. And the NFL has already made major moves in that regard, with Thursday Night Football airing exclusively on Prime Video and Peacock hosting the first-ever streaming-only NFL playoff game.
But while WWE might not be in the same stratosphere as the NFL when it comes to ratings — and who is? — its weekly television programs remain valuable commodities nonetheless. With a premium having been placed on live programming, WWE is one of the few entities that offers 52 weeks worth of it and it’s not a surprise that its latest round of rights deals resulted in (at least) $6.5 billion worth of deals between Raw, SmackDown and NXT.
It’s also likely not a coincidence that WWE’s latest deals will give it a presence on network television, cable television, and now streaming. Again, that’s similar to the NFL’s approach. But much like the NFL’s deal with Amazon, WWE’s deal with Netflix establishes the streaming giant as more than just an afterthought in future negotiations, be it with WWE or another entity like the NBA.
As is the case with any groundbreaking deal, some uncertainty exists. And it’s worth noting that while it has been touted as a 10-year deal, Netflix reportedly has the ability to end it after five years — or extend it to 20 years.
But regardless of what you think about pro wrestling, WWE has undeniably been forward-thinking when it comes to media rights, dating back to the first WrestleMania, the inception of Raw and the creation (and leasing) of the WWE Network. Moving its flagship show from linear television to a streaming service could prove to be the latest example of just that.
Either way, it will be more than just the world of pro wrestling paying attention to the WWE and Netflix tag team.
[CNBC]
