Monday Night RAW, WWE’s longtime TV flagship, is moving to Netflix as part of a multi-billion dollar deal. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson becomes part of the new era
The wrestling empire WWE is on the brink of a momentous change of era – and megastar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is on board!
A few days before the Royal Rumble 2024, the first major event of the year, WWE has revealed two big news: Longtime TV flagship Monday Night RAW is moving from linear television to streaming giant Netflix as a result of a multi-billion dollar deal in the U.S. and several other countries.
On the same day, the league announced that league icon Johnson will take an active role in the management of WWE and UFC parent company TKO. He will become part of the “Board of Directors”, which in the US is a mixture of a board of directors and a supervisory board.
WWE RAW moves from TV to Netflix
The move of RAW to Netflix from January 2025 marks the end of a decades-long tradition: the weekly show, which has been running since 1993, has been a constant on US TV for over 30 years. Now the digital media transformation will also be visible here
As reported by CNBC and the Sports Business Journal, the deal runs for 10 years and is worth 5 billion dollars. Meanwhile, the show SmackDown, which will move from Fox to the USA Network to the media conglomerate NBC Universal, the previous home of RAW, will remain on traditional television.
Netflix will also become the new home of RAW and other shows that were previously part of WWE’s own streaming service, the WWE Network, in many other countries: So far, we’re talking about Canada, the UK and Latin America – in Germany, the RAW rights are still with Pro 7 Maxx.
The Netflix deal means that another, similarly disruptive scenario is off the table: WWE had also been negotiating with Warner Brothers Discovery, the TV partner of competitor AEW.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson with new role
Parallel to the Netflix deal, WWE also announced the involvement of Dwayne Johnson: Johnson – who recently flirted with a comeback match and a mega duel with Universal Champion Roman Reigns in a surprise appearance on WWE TV – is returning to his roots permanently.
In addition to his successful Hollywood career, Johnson now has a long list of business ventures, including a film production company and the UFL (formerly XFL) football league. The official announcement highlights Johnson’s experience in discovering and promoting lucrative “media rights, live events, sponsorship, licensing and social media opportunities”.
In addition to Johnson, the 13-member TKO executive committee includes TKO CEO Ari Emmanuel, WWE President Nick Khan and scandal-plagued company founder Vince McMahon – surprisingly ousted in the creative department by Emmanuel last year.
Johnson’s old companion “Triple H” Paul Levesque, who is now reunited with his old ring rival, now has the leading role in product design.