LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nick Khan's prediction becomes a reality on Monday night.
The World Wrestling Entertainment executive said during earning calls in the past that he saw a day when Netflix would continue to evolve and enter into live programming, much to the consternation of Netflix officials.
However, Khan saw the hires that Netflix was making along with the streaming service's offerings that could appeal to all family members.
Now, one of those offerings is the WWE.
The 1,650th episode of "Monday Night Raw" from the Intuit Dome outside of Los Angeles officially kicks off WWE's 10-year partnership with Netflix. The agreement, reached last January, is worth in excess of $5 billion with an option for Netflix to extend for an additional 10 years or opt out after five.
“We try to appeal the WWE to all 50 states and to countries globally. We think Netflix does the same thing," said Khan, who is WWE’s president.
Netflix — which has 282.3 million subscribers in more than 190 countries — becomes the exclusive home of “Raw” in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom and Latin America, with additional countries to be added over time. The bigger component for Netflix though, is that the streaming platform will carry all of the company’s shows overseas — including “Smackdown” and “NXT” — as well as premium live events like WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble.
In the U.S., “Smackdown” moved to USA Network from Fox and “NXT” from USA to the CW three months ago. Peacock has a contract to carry WWE's premium live events through March 2026.
“Raw” began airing on Jan. 11, 1993, and is the longest running weekly episodic series on television. Most of that time had been on USA Network with a run on Spike TV, now known as Paramount Network.
“It has great storytelling, characters along with memorable and surprising stories. And the idea of combining this kind of intense fandom with these characters and our reach globally just seemed like such a great opportunity,” said Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content officer. “What we also love is the multigenerational fan base. At the end of the day, we have great things that our members love and this totally delivers on all of the things that we want. And to do it 52 weeks a year is super exciting."
WWE's global reach has expanded during the past year, with nearly half of its premium live events taking place overseas. The company will also embark on an extended tour of Europe in March to build momentum for WrestleMania 41, which takes place in Las Vegas April 19 and 20.
Khan said WWE first approached Netflix about its rights in 2018, but Netflix wasn't ready to begin carrying live events. The streaming service has ramped up its efforts during the past year, not only with sports events, but with Chris Rock's comedy special and the roast of Tom Brady.
Brandon Riegg, Netflix’s vice president of nonfiction series and sports, said the social media buzz around “Raw” each week as well as the stable audience WWE provides made it a natural fit this time when the company approached Netflix last year.
In turn, Riegg thinks Netflix can help expand WWE's audience the way it did with Formula 1 and the “Drive to Survive” series.
“It really was just fitting in to the whole picture of we’re going to do these big events like the Tyson-Paul fight and the NFL on Christmas," he said. "But then throughout the year, if we can have a steady drumbeat of those amazing live moments and live action and spectacle, that’s what we’re going to get with WWE.”
According to Nielsen, "Raw's" final episode on USA Network averaged 1.6 million viewers despite going against the "Monday Night Football" matchup between the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers.
Khan and WWE chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque have also stressed that the three-hour weekly show will not hurt its rating due to being on a streaming platform. “Raw” was known for toeing the line on risky content during the late 1990s in what WWE called the “Attitude Era,” but that has changed over the years.
“It’s not pushing anybody away of what they want. It’s a safe place for families and everybody to be able to view. That will not change, but you don’t have to change that to expand and improve what you do,” Levesque said.
WWE's storytelling and character development continues to excel even during external challenges. Former chairman Vince McMahon resigned last January after a lawsuit claiming sexual misconduct. In 2023, WWE was bought by Endeavor and merged with Ultimate Fighting Championship to create TKO Group Holdings.
According to WWE, there were 44 sellouts for TV shows and 66 overall, including house shows and premium live events, in 2024.
WWE champion Cody Rhodes credited Khan and Levesque for keeping the company on track, along with scaling back on some of the non-televised live events to make sure top talent does not get burned out during the year.
Levesque said Monday's show will be on the level of a premium live event. John Cena, who is retiring from WWE at the end of the year, begins his farewell tour with three main event matches on tap. It also wouldn't be a shock if Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson makes an appearance.
Roman Reigns, who will take part in one of the main event matches, said he is always trying to put his best foot forward, but he also knows how big Monday night is for the company.
“There’s no hiding that this is Netflix and this is huge and this is going to be on a global platform with a lot of people watching. I’m not sure exactly what that audience is going to look like. It’s going to be crazy, I know that."
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AP sports writer Dan Gelston in Philadelphia contributed to this story.
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