LOS ANGELES – Nick Khan’s prediction turns into a actuality on Monday night time.
The World Wrestling Leisure govt mentioned throughout incomes calls up to now that he noticed a day when Netflix would proceed to evolve and enter into stay programming, a lot to the consternation of Netflix officers.
Nonetheless, Khan noticed the hires that Netflix was making together with the streaming service’s choices that might enchantment to all relations.
Now, a type of choices is the WWE.
The 1,650th episode of “Monday Night time Uncooked” from the Intuit Dome outdoors of Los Angeles formally kicks off WWE’s 10-year partnership with Netflix. The settlement, reached last January, is price in extra of $5 billion with an choice for Netflix to increase for an extra 10 years or decide out after 5.
“We attempt to enchantment the WWE to all 50 states and to international locations globally. We predict Netflix does the identical factor,” mentioned Khan, who’s WWE’s president.
Netflix — which has 282.3 million subscribers in additional than 190 international locations — turns into the unique residence of “Uncooked” within the U.S., Canada, the UK and Latin America, with further international locations to be added over time. The larger element for Netflix although, is that the streaming platform will carry all the firm’s reveals abroad — together with “Smackdown” and “NXT” — in addition to premium stay occasions like WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble.
Within the U.S., “Smackdown” moved to USA Community from Fox and “NXT” from USA to the CW three months in the past. Peacock has a contract to hold WWE’s premium stay occasions via March 2026.
“Uncooked” started airing on Jan. 11, 1993, and is the longest operating weekly episodic sequence on tv. Most of that point had been on USA Community with a run on Spike TV, now often called Paramount Community.
“It has nice storytelling, characters together with memorable and shocking tales. And the concept of mixing this sort of intense fandom with these characters and our attain globally simply appeared like such a fantastic alternative,” mentioned Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content material officer. “What we additionally love is the multigenerational fan base. On the finish of the day, now we have nice issues that our members love and this completely delivers on all the issues that we would like. And to do it 52 weeks a yr is tremendous thrilling.”
WWE’s international attain has expanded in the course of the previous yr, with almost half of its premium stay occasions going down abroad. The corporate can even embark on an prolonged tour of Europe in March to construct momentum for WrestleMania 41, which takes place in Las Vegas April 19 and 20.
Khan mentioned WWE first approached Netflix about its rights in 2018, however Netflix wasn’t prepared to start carrying stay occasions. The streaming service has ramped up its efforts in the course of the previous yr, not solely with sports activities occasions, however with Chris Rock’s comedy particular and the roast of Tom Brady.
Brandon Riegg, Netflix’s vp of nonfiction sequence and sports activities, mentioned the social media buzz round “Uncooked” every week in addition to the steady viewers WWE gives made it a pure match this time when the corporate approached Netflix final yr.
In flip, Riegg thinks Netflix can assist broaden WWE’s viewers the best way it did with Components 1 and the “Drive to Survive” sequence.
“It actually was simply becoming in to the entire image of we’re going to do these massive occasions just like the Tyson-Paul struggle and the NFL on Christmas,” he mentioned. “However then all year long, if we are able to have a gentle drumbeat of these superb stay moments and stay motion and spectacle, that’s what we’re going to get with WWE.”
In accordance with Nielsen, “Uncooked’s” closing episode on USA Community averaged 1.6 million viewers regardless of going towards the “Monday Night time Soccer” matchup between the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers.
Khan and WWE chief content material officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque have additionally pressured that the three-hour weekly present won’t damage its score attributable to being on a streaming platform. “Uncooked” was recognized for toeing the road on dangerous content material in the course of the late Nineties in what WWE referred to as the “Angle Period,” however that has modified over time.
“It’s not pushing anyone away of what they need. It’s a protected place for households and everyone to have the ability to view. That won’t change, however you don’t have to vary that to broaden and enhance what you do,” Levesque mentioned.
WWE’s storytelling and character growth continues to excel even throughout exterior challenges. Former chairman Vince McMahon resigned last January after a lawsuit claiming sexual misconduct. In 2023, WWE was purchased by Endeavor and merged with Final Combating Championship to create TKO Group Holdings.
In accordance with WWE, there have been 44 sellouts for TV reveals and 66 general, together with home reveals and premium stay occasions, in 2024.
WWE champion Cody Rhodes credited Khan and Levesque for maintaining the corporate on monitor, together with scaling again on a number of the non-televised stay occasions to verify high expertise doesn’t get burned out in the course of the yr.
Levesque mentioned Monday’s present will likely be on the extent of a premium stay occasion. John Cena, who is retiring from WWE on the finish of the yr, begins his farewell tour with three principal occasion matches on faucet. It additionally would not be a shock if Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson makes an look.
Roman Reigns, who will participate in one of many principal occasion matches, mentioned he’s at all times attempting to place his finest foot ahead, however he additionally is aware of how massive Monday night time is for the corporate.
“There’s no hiding that that is Netflix and that is large and that is going to be on a worldwide platform with lots of people watching. I’m undecided precisely what that viewers goes to seem like. It’s going to be loopy, I do know that.”
___
AP sports activities author Dan Gelston in Philadelphia contributed to this story.
___
AP sports activities: https://apnews.com/sports
Copyright 2025 The Related Press. All rights reserved. This materials is probably not revealed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed with out permission.