Streaming giant Netflix, the home for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in India come April 1, has made it clear that the company intends to retain exclusivity over programming and has no plans to sublicence it to local broadcasters (read Sony Pictures Network India).
Netflix secured global exclusive rights to WWE content in a $5 billion deal spanning 10 years in January 2024.
Moneycontrol quotes Brandon Riegg, Netflix’s vice president, nonfiction series & sports, as having indicated in a media briefing ahead of the India debut of WWE on the streamer on April 1 that the company intends to retain exclusivity over the programming and has no plans to sublicence it to local broadcasters.
“Our default is full exclusivity, so I don’t anticipate us deviating from that, and that really comes down to the idea of simplicity and what’s best for our members… The days of having to hunt for your favourite WWE product across a variety of channels can be cumbersome and frustrating,” he said.
For Netflix, which is estimated to have over 15 million subscribers in India, the move is expected to help the streaming giant attract more consumers in an increasingly important market amid rising competition and demand for digital content in the world’s second-largest internet market, Moneycontrol further reports.
Around 30% of WWE’s 110 million YouTube subscribers, or about 34 million, are from India. “Hence, we know that a great way to reach our fans, to drive them to watch the content on Netflix, is through these digital platforms,” the business news platform quotes WWE president Nick Khan as having stated.
“We have high hopes in terms of performance… We expect a lot of value to come from the India fan base and in turn provide value to our members within India,” Riegg said.
Netflix subscribers in India will be able to stream all of WWE’s weekly flagship shows — RAW, NXT, and SmackDown — as well as WWE’s Premium Live Events including SummerSlam, Money in the Bank, Royal Rumble and the upcoming WrestleMania.
They will be able to view these shows live or on demand on the platform. Netflix will also offer Hindi commentary as an option as part of its efforts to localise content. The company said it will also feature new and exclusive archival content from the WWE vault.
Live shows coming back to India
Khan says the streamer’s mid-term goal to bring WWE to India for a flagship event, possibly in 2026 or 2027. The company last held a live event in Hyderabad in 2023 after a six-year gap.
“That’s the goal, and we’re pencilling out 2026 and 2027 now. In one of our first meetings with Netflix after the deal was signed. Without asking, Netflix handed us a list of their priority countries. At the top of that list was India. And knowing that the race would come into play on April 1 in India, if it’s important to Netflix, assume it’s important to us. India has always been important to us. So we’re pencilling it out now, and let’s wait and see,” Hindustan Times quotes Khan as saying.
‘WWE second most watched sport in India’
During the media interaction, Khan also spoke about how WWE is the second most-watched sport in India, only behind cricket. “WWE is the second most popular sport in India, behind cricket… There’s multi-generational viewing. Families watch it together. Women and men watch it alone,” he said.
“You’ll notice a lot of dramas and stories with deep narratives. That’s exactly what we believe WWE is,” he added.
“There’s no more flipping through channels or wondering what’s airing when,” HT quotes Chris Legentil, executive vice president of WWE, as saying.
“It’s live if you want it live, or available any time later. That kind of frictionless viewing is what fans want,” Legentil further said.
