Streaming pioneer Netflix took a big step into live events on Tuesday with a more than US$5 billion rights deal that would make it the exclusive home of World Wrestling Entertainment‘s Raw starting January 2025.
The 10-year partnership will see Raw on the streaming platform in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Latin America, among other territories, the companies said.
Netflix will also exclusively telecast outside the U.S. all WWE shows and specials, including SmackDown, as well as pay-per-view live events such as WrestleMania and Royal Rumble.
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Shares of Netflix rose 3 per cent in premarket trading, while TKO Group — the parent company of WWE — jumped nearly 16 per cent.
Netflix has in recent years been keen on live events. It secured rights to a tennis face-off between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz last month and had streamed a celebrity golf tournament in November featuring Formula One drivers and golfers.
The deal marks a major shift for WWE as Raw, which debuted in 1993 and has 1,600 episodes, leaves linear television for the first time since its inception.
WWE merged with UFC parent Endeavour Group to form TKO Group Holdings in a deal valued at US$21 billion last year, forming one of the biggest names in wrestling and entertainment.