World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) weekly flagship show, Raw, along with other popular programs such SmackDown and NXT, have debuted on Netflix in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Latin America and and other international markets on Monday.
This comes after Netflix signed a ten-year deal worth $5 billion (R94 billion) last year for exclusive rights to broadcast WWE’s live TV events.
TKO President and COO Mark Shapiro confirming WWE's departure from linear television to the streaming giant last year said the move would 'dramatically expand the reach of WWE.'
“This deal is transformative, it marries the can’t-miss WWE product with Netflix’s extraordinary global reach and locks in significant and predictable economics for many years.
IT'S OFFICIAL! 🚨@YaOnlyLivvOnce will defend her title against @RheaRipley_WWE at the premiere of #WWERaw on @netflix! pic.twitter.com/eFTs9Txa3y
— WWE (@WWE) December 18, 2024
"Our partnership fundamentally alters and strengthens the media landscape, dramatically expands the reach of WWE, and brings weekly live appointment viewing to Netflix.” Shapiro said.
However, while WWE content will be available on Netflix in certain countries, SuperSport will continue to broadcast WWE events in sub-Saharan Africa, as they currently hold the broadcasting rights.
“SuperSport has held WWE broadcast rights for Sub-Saharan Africa since 2017, which we expanded in 2019, through our direct partnership with World Wrestling Entertainment.
“We are also pleased to bring wrestling fans WWE Premier Live Events, as well as a dedicated 24-hour WWE channel on DStv and GOtv, which has archive content, documentaries and bespoke WWE, shows such as Jambo WWE," SuperSport said according to MyBroadband.
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