WWE is keeping their options open for ‘Raw,’ but moving days could be unwise

The television world is rapidly changing. At this point, if you’re not the NFL (with their locked-in-through 2033-34 TV contracts), you’re in an exciting spot.

The state of the industry might have changed again on Tuesday, but we won’t know it for a while. WWE announced that the pro wrestling company’s flagship show, WWE Raw, will air exclusively on the Netflix streaming service beginning January 2025.

It’s a massive deal, and a significant move for pro wrestling and the whole sports and entertainment universe. And it’s not the first time WWE moves have impacted others. You may remember that back in 2014, the company announced its OTT streaming service: the WWE Network.

While the company initially dealt with budget constraints and a subscriber model, the move paid off and indicated things to come. But while their streaming service took off, others began to bubble up. Now, we’re seeing NFL Playoff games on Peacock, sports coverage added onto streaming services, and much more. And you can trace much of that back to WWE’s move to streaming in 2014.

But there’s a difference between that and what’s to come here. The Network and later Peacock (which the network moved to in 2021) have hosted the company’s premium live events. They’ve done so successfully, boasting as recently as November that their viewership usually puts them ahead.

A move for Raw to a streaming service, on its own, may make sense and may not. Ad revenue is part of the game, and while there are ad features on streaming services, they’re still not quite the same as television. You’re also asking people to learn a new function, as their home will change from a traditional cable network to a streaming service. That alone will cause change.

Then there is the thought: What if Raw changes nights? From the beginning, Nick Khan and WWE have appeared flexible regarding their new TV deals. At one time, it was thought that ‘Smackdown’ could move nights again. That didn’t come to fruition, as the show will remain on Fridays on the USA Network beginning this October. But how about ‘Raw?’

WWE President Nick Khan joined The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday amid the big news. While there, Khan alluded that Raw could move nights. He explained that they’ve held up well even with football competition, but they think they can make it work. From Ben Axelrod:

“Even against Alabama-Michigan and the Washington-Texas game a few weeks ago, Monday Night Raw did a .6 in the 18-49 demo, which is a massive rating against big competition,” the WWE president said. “If we stay on Mondays, it will work. If we move it to a different day, we think it will work too.”

Throughout 2023, Raw held up pretty well in the ratings. The show rarely tipped over, even while it dealt with competition as usual in the fall. The NFL and the NBA Finals were the only things that caused the show to take a bath this past year. WWE’s fans are loyal to a tee sometimes.

It also helps that the show has been where it’s been, which could make a move from Monday ill-advised. While Smackdown has aired on Thursdays, Fridays, Tuesdays, and then Fridays again, Raw has stayed in its spot since the show’s first broadcast in January 1993.

By the time 2025 rolls around, we’ll be talking about 32 years of viewing habits and behaviors at work. People tune in on Monday nights because they know wrestling is on Monday nights. WWE’s year-end clip shows each earned pretty sizable numbers, especially considering that nothing was previously advertised for the show except year-end look-backs. Out of habit, people will tune in to Raw on Monday nights on USA Network.

Obviously, the pursuit of money overrides sentimental feelings. If WWE and Netflix decide they want to move Raw, then they’ll move it. But life isn’t without risk, and moving the channel and the night is a tricky one-two punch.