Netflix reached a multibillion-dollar, 10-year deal for unique rights to W.W.E.’s flagship weekly wrestling present “Uncooked,” because the streaming big broadens its choices with extra stay content material.
The deal will deliver “Uncooked” to Netflix beginning in January 2025, Netflix and TKO Group, W.W.E.’s father or mother firm, stated in an announcement. Netflix can even personal the rights to stream W.W.E.’s different reveals and specials outdoors of the USA.
The settlement will value Netflix greater than $5 billion and can final for 10 years, with an choice to increase a further 10 years or decide out after 5, TKO Group stated in a regulatory submitting.
“By combining our attain, suggestions, and fandom with W.W.E., we’ll be capable to ship extra pleasure and worth for his or her audiences and our members,” Netflix’s chief content material officer, Bela Bajaria, stated in an announcement.
“Uncooked,” which began the careers of stars like “Stone Chilly” Steve Austin, John Cena and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, has appeared on linear tv since its debut in 1993. It now airs on the USA Community, the place it attracts 17.5 million distinctive viewers a 12 months, in line with W.W.E.
TKO, which is managed by the Hollywood energy dealer Ari Emanuel’s Endeavor and was created by the merger of W.W.E. and Final Preventing Championship final 12 months, stated in a separate assertion that Mr. Johnson would be a part of its board. TKO’s shares jumped about 17 p.c on Tuesday; Netflix shares had been up barely.
With the W.W.E. deal, Netflix, which has 247 million subscribers, enormously expands its steady of stay programming, which additionally consists of the truth present “Love Is Blind.” The corporate has just lately centered on sports activities documentaries over stay sports activities, however including “Uncooked” to its lineup brings it in nearer competitors with rivals like Peacock, which has made stay sporting occasions a spine of its service and just lately streamed a Nationwide Soccer League playoff sport.
The announcement got here a day after Netflix stated Scott Stuber, the corporate’s movie chairman who lured filmmakers like Rian Johnson, Zack Snyder and Greta Gerwig to the streaming service, would depart in March.
Netflix will report its quarterly earnings on Tuesday afternoon.
