This is a move that has been on the cards ever since streaming giant Netflix agreed a ten-year $5 billion deal this January with World Wrestling Entertainment to become its exclusive global broadcaster from 2025.
Starting January 2025, Netflix will exclusively stream WWE’s marquee shows — Raw, SmackDown, and NXT — in key markets, including the US, Canada, the UK, and South America. From March 2025, the deal will extend to India, when WWE’s long-running deal with Sony Pictures Networks India expires.
It bears noting that SPNI has been the home of WWE, a critical market for WWE’s global growth ambitions, since 2016, which was when the network acquired Ten Sports from Zee Entertainment for $385 million. For the record, the erstwhile Ten Sports (later rebranded to Sony Ten) has been broadcasting WWE content since 2002.
It is pertinent to note that SPNI renewed its five year deal for broadcasting WWE in the country for an estimated $180m to $210m in 2020.
The deal marks Netflix India’s big ticket entry into the sports entertainment category.
The new media rights are part of Netflix’s strategy to boost its top line and shore up viewership numbers. But it remains to be seen if Netflix is able to translate the fanbase of WWE from linear television to a subscription-based streaming platform, especially in a price-conscious market like India.
More pertinent is the challenges WWE’s “shift out” of what has been a bread and butter property means for SPNI, now left with little of to show as the freshly minted behemoth JioStar holds the rights for the three biggest cricket properties in the India market – IPL, BCCI and ICC.
It was in November that Reliance-controlled Viacom18 and Disney Star India completed the $8.5 Bn merger and paved the way for the creation of an Indian media juggernaut that operates over 100 TV channels and an aggregate subscription base of over 50m on its two streaming platforms – JioCinema and Hotstar.
