WWE is heading into new territory as they prepare to stream Monday Night Raw on Netflix in 2025. The $5 billion deal was made on January 23, with fans curious and skeptical about the brand moving exclusively to streaming.Â
While the company plans to move to Monday Night Raw off TV, fans became aware that its deal with USA Network would end in September. WWE not having an agreement in place would’ve left the brand without a home until January 2025 to Netflix. However, TKO Group Holding has announced that they have reached a new deal, a $25 million deal with NBCUniversal, to keep Monday Night Raw on the USA Network for the rest of the year.Â
Breaking: WWE announces it as entered into a short term $25 million deal with NBCU to keep Raw on USA Network in Q4 till the start of the Netflix Agreement in January 2025. That means Raw & Smackdown for a brief time at the end of the year will be both on the USA Network. pic.twitter.com/KkSEtLYaEi
— SEScoops (@sescoops) May 8, 2024
TKO shared their 2024 first-quarter results today and revealed that Monday Night Raw would stay on the USA Network for the fourth quarter of 2024. The deal will also allow NBCU Universal to have Monday Night Raw and Friday Night Smackdown on the network later this year.Â
It’s unclear if WWE may have considered other possible suitors to host Monday Night RAW later this year. However, this may be a win for fans as both brands will be on one network until Monday Night Raw moves to Netflix. It will also allow fans to slowly transition from cable to streaming to watch their favorite superstars on the Raw brand.Â
More On WWE’s Move To Netflix Next Year
WWE’s decision to move to Netflix will be game-changing as they hope to bring the same weekly audience to the streaming service. CBS News’ William Lankford reported earlier this year that Netflix has over 200 million subscribers, with 13.1 million added by the end of 2023. Â
Netflix’s decision to add the WWE flagship show will be interesting as it aims to compete with other streaming services, like Amazon Prime Videos, for live sports. While other platforms have a season or games of a sport, Netflix will benefit from having Monday Night Raw every week. Â
WWE’s new deal with NBCUniversal has secured the future for the rest of the year. The company will have to figure out if they can get fans to watch their brand on streaming in 2025. However, the $25 million agreement has given them time to get their audience to follow Monday Night Raw’s transition to Netflix.
