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Here’s a great piece of news for all the WWE fans. In the latest turn of events, WWE’s flagship program, Raw, has been taken over by the OTT giant. In a new deal with Netflix, the show will stream on the platform starting next year. If the latest reports are abuzz, then Netflix and TKO Group Holdings have come together and announced that it would be Netflix’s first step towards live sports. It is worth noting that the big move is going to be a 10-year deal and is valued at a whopping $5 billion.
Speaking about the deal, according to a report in CNBC, the OTT giant will have the option to exit the deal after five years. But they will also have an option to extend it for another 10 years. Known for its popularity worldwide, the platform will also be live-streaming Raw globally. It is being said that Netflix will also become the ‘home for all WWE shows and specials outside the US, including SmackDown and NXT, as well as WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Royal Rumble.’
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CNBC quotes TKO President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Shapiro, saying, “This is a super game changer. When you look back at the chapters of sports media history, new chapters are driven by extraordinary new paradigms. ESPN and Turner bringing NFL to cable in 1987. Rupert Murdoch bringing football to Fox in 1994. When new histories are written, Raw on Netflix will be such a chapter starter.”
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“This is one of the greatest entertainment platforms in the world. It has marketing you can’t even comprehend. It has positioning that’s unparalleled in terms of what they do on their front page,” said Shapiro about the OTT giant.
Reacting to the same, WWE president Nick Khan said in a statement as per f4wonline:
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“At this moment in time, it remains Monday Night Raw, but keep in mind, we’ve got 10 and a half months until this deal’s up and running so we’re looking at what you’re looking at and what everyone else is looking at. You have a proliferation of gambling with Monday Night Football. You have an enhanced Disney package better games, all credit to Jimmy Pitaro (ESPN President), the Bobfather as Pat you and I call him, you coined that term, Bob Iger (Disney CEO) and all the other good folks at Disney.
You’ve got the Manningcast. This year, it was on ABC and ESPN Monday Night Football. You got last season the playoff game that they got I believe was Tom Brady at the Cowboys, the season before, whatever that was. You also have the college national championship, football and hoops on Mondays. So, you’ve got a lot of Mondays where there is stiff competition. With that said, even against Alabama/Michigan and the Washington/Texas game a few weeks ago, Monday Night Raw did a 0.6 in the 18 to 49 demo, which is a massive rating against big competition. If we stay on Monday’s, it’ll work, if we move to a different day, we think it’ll work too.”
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to Koimoi!
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