Netflix looking to wrestle local WWE rights away from Foxtel
WWE is set to hit Australia next month, but things are already heating up in a big way outside of the ring.
Last week, Netflix announced a $5 billion deal with the professional wrestling juggernaut, revealing it had secured the exclusive rights to WWE’s flagship show, Monday Night Raw, in the US, Canada, UK, and Latin America, from January 2025.
In a statement, TKO Group – owner of WWE – confirmed that Netflix will “become the home for all WWE shows and specials outside the US as available, inclusive of Raw and WWE’s other weekly shows – SmackDown and NXT – as well as the company’s Premium Live Events”, adding that “additional countries and regions” will be “added over time”.
While the Foxtel Group’s “multi-year partnership” with WWE, which was signed in 2022, was believed to mean that Australian WWE fans would not be impacted by the news, that has now changed.
Netflix Australia has since confirmed to Mumbrella that Australia is indeed one of the “additional countries” mentioned in TKO’s statement, however could not confirm when the switch to the streaming service will take place.
Mumbrella has contacted Foxtel for further comment.
Just days after the Netflix deal was announced, WWE head Vince McMahon resigned from his role as TKO executive chairman and the TKO board following a lawsuit filed by a former employee accusing him of serious sexual misconduct.
Grayson Waller
The Netflix deal also comes as WWE prepares to head to Perth next month for its premium live event, Elimination Chamber, where over 50,000 fans are expected to pack out Optus Stadium on February 24.
Appearing on a new episode of The Plug podcast with Neil Griffiths, WWE superstar and Sydney’s own Grayson Waller, who will feature on the card alongside fellow Aussie and current WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley, said the event is a dream come true.
“It means a lot and especially for my friends and family that are coming,” Waller said.
“I was talking to one of my close mates… he came to one of my first matches in a shed in Newcastle in front of 25 people.
“For me, personally this is wild. It’s very surreal.”
Listen to the full episode here.
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Not subscribed to Netflix,but am with Foxtel,so glad for a local news site actually following up on the fine print of the new deals impact!
The irony is that it seems like the Foxtel 2022 deal seems to have been used as a test case of consolidating (in the US at least),splitting of shows across different platforms…clearly they liked the numbers & decided to go higher on a US/International level by targeting a streaming service desperate to get exclusive content.
Not sure there’s enough on Netflix to justify a subscription with the mostly meh reboots & original content.
But much like Netflix,Foxtel is now finding that the likes of Disney,HBO,Paramount & others are tending to withdraw movies,shows & even channels like Nat Geo to their own streaming services & offering poor alternatives.
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