WWE Gives First-Ever Look Into Writers’ Room and ‘Calculated’ Process in Netflix Doc: ‘We’re Gonna Lift the Curtain’

Netflix is pulling back the curtain on the WWE.

“WWE: Unreal,” a new docuseries set to debut this summer, will give viewers an exclusive, closer look at the organization. Produced by Omaha Productions, NFL Films, Skydance Sports and WWE, the series will consist of 10 episodes, each 50 minutes long.

Here is the official logline: “For the first time ever, step into the WWE writer’s room and outside the ring with your favorite WWE Superstars, where the drama is just as intense offstage as it is under the spotlight.”

WWE commentator Michael Cole first teased the doc on Sunday during the second night of WrestleMania. A premiere date has not yet been announced.

Chris Weaver directs and Erik Powers serves as showrunner. Executive producers include Peyton Manning, Jamie Horowitz, Ross Ketover, Keith Cossrow, Ken Rodgers, Jessica Boddy, Lee Fitting, Ben Houser and Marc Pomarico.

Netflix obtained WWE’s “Raw” at the top of 2025 for a massive $5 billion ($500 million per year for 10 years), beginning their cohesive relationship. Since the inception of “Raw” in 1993, it has lived on linear television, airing on USA or briefly, Spike TV. The first episode of “Raw” on Netflix, which debuted in January, pulled in 4.9 million views globally.

Netflix not only became the exclusive home of “Raw” in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Latin America and other territories, it also became the home for all WWE shows — including WrestleMania, SummerSlam and the Royal Rumble — outside the U.S.

source: variety.com

WWE’s ‘Monday Night Raw’ Netflix Debut Draws 4.9 Million Views

The first episode of WWE‘s “Monday Night Raw” to stream live on Netflix pulled in 4.9 million views globally.

That is according to Live+1 data provided by Netflix, with a view defined as total hours viewed for the program divided by its runtime. The 4.9 million views came from countries like the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Latin America, but did not include 92 countries/territories where Netflix doesn’t yet distribute WWE, including France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Philippines and South Korea.

The Netflix debut of “Raw” was also viewed by 2.6 million households in the U.S. according to VideoAmp, compared to the 1.2 million households “Raw” was averaging in 2024.

It is difficult to make a direct comparison between the Netflix and USA Network viewership for “Raw,” as linear channels measure their viewership differently than Netflix does. For the sake of some comparison, however, the final episode of “Raw” on USA Network averaged approximately 1.596 million viewers across its two-hour runtime, according to Nielsen Live + Same Day data. From the beginning of October through the end of December, “Raw” averaged approximately 1.65 million viewers per week on USA Network.

During the first “Raw” on Netflix, Roman Reigns defeated his cousin Solo Sikoa in a Tribal Combat match for the sacred ula fala and the title of Tribal Chief. Later, Rhea Ripley defeated Liv Morgan to regain the women’s world championship title, Jey Uso defeated Drew McIntyre, and CM Punk won a brutal main event match against Seth Rollins.

The night also saw John Cena kick off his 2025 retirement tour, while Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson opened the show and later appeared alongside Reigns. WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan made an appearance toward the end of the show, but was met with a barrage of boos from the crowd.

This is the latest in push by Netflix into live streaming. Previously, the streamer aired a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul that drew an estimated average minute audience (AMA) of 108 million live viewers globally. The event peaked at 65 million concurrent streams, with 38 million concurrent streams in the US. Over Christmas, the NFL matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans averaged 24.3 million viewers on Netflix, while the earlier Chiefs-Steelers bout brought in 24.1 million viewers.

source: variety.com

Paul and Stephanie at the WWE Raw Netflix Premiere

Triple H Responds To Criticism Of WWE Video

During the post-show press conference for WWE RAW on Netflix, Triple H discussed creating the RAW cold open video and their purpose behind it.

The three-minute cold open video featured the use of several “insider” terms, such as “heel,” “face,” “shoot” and “work,” and the WWE CCO explained how the goal was to provide something for everyone while also presenting WWE to new audiences.

You can check out some highlights from the media scrum below:

On their goal with the opening video: “I think when we first started talking about Netflix and this opportunity tonight. And you look at Netflix’s audience, it’s everybody. And it’s one of the things I think Netflix does so well, they have something there that appeals to everybody. They have something for young people, they have something for older folks like different products, different things, documentaries — they have everything under the sun on Netflix and there’s something for everybody. So when you have the opportunity to appeal to those people, you want to give them a little of everything. And we felt like it was important for us to sort of pay homage to the past, talk about what this business is. Like if you’ve never watched this, if you grew up and you never saw it, what is it?”

On criticism of the use of insider terms: “That was the intent, to capture the emotion — and let people know, ‘We’re not hiding what we do.’ You know, I saw a lot of chatter today from people saying like, ‘Oh my God, they said heel and face and shoot and work and one promo.’ Like, we’re not hiding what we do. That’s what we do. And to be honest, I think most of the world understands those terms and sort of now, they’ve almost transcended our business. I see people talking about that in other [venues], ‘He’s a heel, this guy.’ It’s transcended our business. It’s what it is, people know what we are. We talk about it, we’re not insulting anybody’s intelligence.

“But we’re an art form. Absolutely an art form that captures people’s emotions. It’s not — we don’t take ourselves as seriously as most other people take us. So it was all part of trying to capture that and say, ‘If you’ve watched, watch this and hopefully we honor what you love. If you’ve never watched this, watch this, we’ll explain to you what we are.’ That was the attempt.”

Hulk Hogan Gets Booed During WWE’s Netflix Debut

Although WWE‘s Netflix debut was a hit, not everyone was met with a warm welcome.

During Monday Night Raw, Hulk Hogan made a surprise appearance to push his beer brand’s partnership with WWE, but his quick speech in front of an American flag largely attracted boos from the audience at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.

As the camera panned across the audience, thumbs could be seen pointed down as the booing intensified throughout his product plug.

“Well you know, brother, in the wrestling business, when you’re getting ready to draw some big money, you got to shoot an angle, put some hot spice on the feud,” he said on Fox News. “And when I had Trump in the back at the Garden, I said, ‘You know something? This Robert Kennedy Jr., he’s onto something with nutrition.’ But if you tag team us up as the mega powers, you know – the MAGA-powers, RFK Jr. and Hulk Hogan – he can get them eating the right food and I can get all of our kids in shape, brother.”

In addition to a star-studded audience, this week’s Monday Night Raw also featured appearances from Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and John Cena. source: deadline.com

Triple H Dubs Current WWE Era The Netflix Era, Says It's Bigger Than Attitude Era

WWE has been enjoying a new wave of popularity. The sports-entertainment juggernaut could gain more fans when the company makes the move to Netflix in 2025. "WWE Raw" will debut on the service on January 6, with the live crowd in the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California also getting the chance to see recording artist Travis Scott appear live. During a recent press event to promote the company's move to Netflix, WWE's Chief Content Officer Triple H believes that this new era the company is entering will surpass the popularity of the famed Attitude Era.

"I think the moment that we're going through right now, I was in the Attitude Era at the peak of it as you were. We didn't realize what it was in the moment. Having seen that, I see this, and I see it way bigger bigger. I see this as this different moment of time in the business, and it being something different." Triple H then turned to Michael Cole, who had mentioned that WWE was currently in 'The Triple H Era,' but The Game respectfully disagreed. "You mentioned it being the Triple H Era. I don't think it's that. I think at the end of it, it's going to be called the Netflix Era because that's where the big change is."

It isn't just Triple H who can feel it, as former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest mentioned after the conclusion of WrestleMania 40 that everyone in WWE can sense that a new era is on the horizon, and its one where they can do things that the stars of the Attitude Era could only dream of. 

Whatever the name of the new era, it has not been lost on Triple H, how important this move is to the company, and the wrestling business as a whole.

"It's mind-boggling to me, the moment of us hitting Netflix," Triple H said. "I don't think people truly understand what that means outside of the US when you have that moment where as a WWE fan, and everything has always been either you have to go find it or where is this programming, when is that programming? Where is the PLE going to be? Now it's this one-stop shop, where I think people are talking about it like 'wow, it's going to be great when Netflix gets [WWE].' I don't think they fully get that like the rest of the world 'we're getting everything,' on that date, all at once. Like I can watch anything at any given time. It's a game-changer."

The United States won't be getting every piece of WWE content right away due to contracts with other networks, meaning that in 2025, "Raw" will be the only show to broadcast live on Netflix. A number of other countries, including Canada and all of the United Kingdom, will get every WWE weekly show live on their service, as well as the monthly Premium Live Events and a select number of past events that have historical significance.

credit: Wrestling Inc.

The WWE Network Is Officially Shutting Down Ahead Of Netflix Move

The WWE Network has long been the home of WWE's library in international markets.

Here in the States, WWE's streaming channel had a run on its own before getting integrated into Peacock. The library of content includes WCW, ECW, and NWA content, most of WWE's PLEs, replays of weekly shows, and tons of original content. It's pretty amazing.

But, that all ends on January 1, when WWE Raw and WWE's extensive library of content move to Netflix. The following press release was sent to WWE Network's international users:

On January 1, 2025, WWE Network will no longer be available in your area. After January 1, Netflix will be the new exclusive home of WWE.

Netflix will bring WWE’s electrifying content all to one place, including weekly shows, Monday Night RAW, SmackDown and NXT, PLUS Premium Live Events (PLEs) such as WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, and SummerSlam.

Many of WWE’s top moments, along with historic PLEs and select programming, will be available on Netflix beginning January 1.

The premiere live episode of Monday Night RAW on Netflix airing on January 6 will feature some of the biggest names in WWE such as John Cena, Undisputed WWE Champion “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Bianca Belair, in addition to many other Superstars and guests including Travis Scott.

If you are already a Netflix subscriber, you’re all set. If you are not a Netflix subscriber, you will need to subscribe so you don’t miss a moment. We can’t wait for you to experience WWE on Netflix this January.

What does "select programming" mean? We'll have to wait and see.

source: si.com

Ari Emanuel Praises Triple H & Dana White’s Work With WWE & UFC, Talks Netflix/WWE Deal

Ari Emanuel is very happy with how Triple H and Dana White are doing with WWE and the UFC, respectively. Emanuel is the CEO of TKO, the parent company of both WWE and UFC, and he recently spoke on Bloomberg about the success of both companies, WWE’s deal with Netflix and more. You can see highlights below (courtesy of Wrestling Inc):

On the performance of the two companies: “I don’t think it’s Fight Club. I remember watching WWE — WWF, actually — when I was young. Paul [Levesque] has done an amazing job with the WWE, with ‘Raw,’ ‘SmackDown,’ PLEs, ‘NXT.’ And UFC is a sport that Dana [White] created over 30 years ago. Didn’t exist. [It was] His vision. You don’t have to explain the rules of the UFC to anybody in the world.”

On Triple H taking over WWE from Vince McMahon: “When you have guys that are visionaries, take whatever comes through on the cases with Vince McMahon who is no longer with the company, and now Paul, Triple H, is running that. They understand, kind of, the heartbeat. The skills I’ve maybe learned in the talent agency side have helped, but now we’re partners. So, now, that’s how I look at it. You just have to let the talent — and those guys are talent — do what they do and support them with all that they need.”

On WWE’s deal with Netflix: “You can see that Netflix wants to be in the live sports business. I think they [WWE] will perform very well for them. There’s a huge chunk of the audience that are WWE fans that are not right now, based on our research, Netflix subscribers. If they capture a portion of those, it’s a huge win for them and a huge win for us.”

On the potential of UFC moving to Netflix: “Listen, ESPN has been an incredible partner. First quarter we’ll see, that’s where we can start. We would love to be back in ESPN. They have been incredible to us.”

Nick Khan Announces New WWE-Netflix Docuseries

Following a monumental shift from airing on network television to broadcasting on a streaming platform like Netflix for the next ten years, it's been revealed by WWE President Nick Khan that "WWE Raw" won't be the only new WWE programming one will see on Netflix beginning January 6, 2025. According to "Bloomberg," the company plans to release a behind-the-scenes docuseries as part of its contractual deal with the world's leading streamer. As of this report, no additional details were mentioned on what the docuseries will focus on, or how soon it will be released in the new year.

In the past, WWE has produced both reality and behind-the-scenes shows like "WWE 24," which spotlighted close profiles of WWE stars' lives in and out of the ring. Additionally, they have tapped into similar formats by lifting the veil behind WWE's most significant yearly premium live events, including "WrestleMania XL: Behind the Curtain" in July, which showcased how Cody Rhodes' rematch with Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Championship originated for this year's WrestleMania 40. Regarding "WWE 24," the most recent star it profiled was former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest in August.

Recently, former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon's "Mr. McMahon" docuseries debuted on Netflix. The six-part miniseries gained widespread traction, even trending on the platform after it was uploaded. Earlier this year, WWE and Netflix signed a $5 billion, 10-year deal, making the promotion the first to broadcast its weekly flagship show on a streaming platform. Reports have indicated that despite moving to Netflix, "Raw" will return to three hours every Monday, with no plans to go commercial-free. Meanwhile, WWE's other contractual agreements include moving "WWE SmackDown" back to USA from FOX last month, and "WWE NXT" to The CW as of three weeks ago.

Update On WWE Programming On Peacock

A new report provides an update on WWE‘s programming on Peacock.

WWE shows are on the move, as SmackDown has moved to USA Network, while NXT will premiere on The CW Network on October 1.

Steven Muelhausen of The Takedown on SI reports that, per a Peacock spokesperson, as part of their agreement with WWE, SmackDown’s complete past season library is available, while new episodes will be available only 30 days after airing on USA.

With RAW, new episodes will be available 30 days after airing, as the show will remain on USA Network through the end of 2024.

The spokesperson also said that Peacock will no longer have the libraries of NXT and RAW when their contracts expire. The streaming service will have countdown clocks to inform viewers of their expiration dates starting on September 19 and December 2, respectively.

Muelhausen also writes that a WWE spokesperson said that all PLEs will continue to air exclusively on Peacock.

WWE RAW will move to Netflix in January 2025. It is currently unclear how this may affect programming otherwise.

source: WrestleZone

Backstage Update On WWE Raw Shift To Two-Hour Format

Some big news emerged from last night's episode of "WWE Raw," as commentator Joe Tessitore revealed that, starting October, "Raw" would be shifting to a two hour format for the remainder of 2024. The move would see the red brand leave behind it's three hour format for the first time since 2012, and had fans wondering if this change would just be through the end of the year, or would continue when "Raw" began airing on Netflix in January 2025.

At least right now, the answer appears to be the latter. Commenting on the programming shift on this morning's "Wrestling Observer Radio," Dave Meltzer revealed that "Raw" would revert back to three hours upon their move to Netflix. Furthermore, the shift from three hours to two was a call made by the USA Network, not by WWE, indicating the promotion was content to remain at three hours for the remainder of their USA tenure.

Further details were also provided regarding WWE's decision to remain with USA Network through the end of the year, something that wasn't always a given due to WWE's original deal with the network expiring in September. Meltzer noted that WWE had a choice on how to fill the gap between October and the start of the Netflix deal, and that the choices came down to USA and the Peacock streaming service, which currently houses WWE's video library. Ultimately, Peacock's unwillingness to pay extra led to WWE's short-term deal to remain with USA. As for the next three weeks, "Raw" will continue to air in its usual three hour block.

Netflix to Become New Home of WWE Raw Beginning 2025

WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO), and Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) today announced a long-term partnership that will bring WWE’s flagship weekly program – Raw – to the world’s leading entertainment service. This marks a major programming shift as Raw leaves linear television for the first time since its inception 31 years ago.

Beginning in January 2025, Netflix will be the exclusive new home of Raw in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Latin America, among other territories, with additional countries and regions to be added over time. Likewise, as part of the agreement, Netflix will also become the home for all WWE shows and specials outside the U.S. as available, inclusive of Raw and WWE’s other weekly shows – SmackDown and NXT – as well as the company’s Premium Live Events, including WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble. WWE’s award-winning documentaries, original series and forthcoming projects will also be available on Netflix internationally beginning in 2025.

“This deal is transformative,” said Mark Shapiro, TKO President and COO. “It marries the can’t-miss WWE product with Netflix’s extraordinary global reach and locks in significant and predictable economics for many years. Our partnership fundamentally alters and strengthens the media landscape, dramatically expands the reach of WWE, and brings weekly live appointment viewing to Netflix.”

“We are excited to have WWE Raw, with its huge and passionate multigenerational fan base, on Netflix,” said Netflix Chief Content Officer, Bela Bajaria. “By combining our reach, recommendations, and fandom with WWE, we’ll be able to deliver more joy and value for their audiences and our members. Raw is the best of sports entertainment, blending great characters and storytelling with live action 52 weeks a year and we’re thrilled to be in this long-term partnership with WWE.”

“In its relatively short history, Netflix has engineered a phenomenal track record for storytelling,” said Nick Khan, WWE President. “We believe Netflix, as one of the world’s leading entertainment brands, is the ideal long-term home for Raw’s live, loyal, and ever-growing fan base.” 

With 1,600 episodes to date, Raw is the most iconic show in sports entertainment. Since its debut in 1993, Raw has delivered action, compelling drama and unmatched athleticism – 52 weeks a year. Blending the best of scripted content with unpredictable live entertainment, the three-hour show has helped launch the careers of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Triple  H, John Cena, Roman Reigns, Bianca Belair and Charlotte Flair.

The show is currently the No. 1 show on USA Network, where it brings in 17.5 million unique viewers over the course of the year. One of television’s best performing shows in the 18-49 advertising demographic, Raw trends on X 52 weeks a year while each new episode is airing. On social media, WWE has more than one billion followers across its platforms.

Peacock Subscriber Updates, Stats On WWE Fans Using Peacock

Peacock hit 24.5 million active subscribers in the United States at the end of 2021, according to Comcast.

This is up 22.5% from the 20 million subscribers that were announced in June 2021.

Comcast also announced that Peacock lost $559 million in the last quarter and $1.7 million for the whole year of 2021. Peacock-related reported revenue was $335 million for the quarter, and $778 million for the year.

Peacock holds the rights to the WWE Network in the United States, and has been the main streamer of WWE Premium Live Events and other programming since April 4, 2021. It was announced in January 2021 that NBCUniversal had acquired the exclusive United States distribution rights to the WWE Network, and would be folding those rights into Peacock.

WWE had around 1.6 million total Network subscribers before the Peacock deal began, with around 1.1-1.2 million of those in the United States.

Analyst Matt Belloni reported earlier this month that of the 1.1 million subscribers that WWE Network had when they signed with Peacock, 1 million successfully converted to Peacock subscribers. It was also noted that more than 3 million Peacock subscribers have watched WWE content since it moved over last spring. Furthermore, more than half of those 3 million subscribers indicated that they signed up “because of WWE.”

Peacock signs up 9 million after adding WWE and The Office

Stephanie McMahon Issues Statement On WrestleMania 37

Stephanie McMahon issued the following open letter:

Good morning,

On Saturday night, I stood on stage at Raymond James Stadium, surrounded by WWE Superstars, in front of a 103 ft long pirate ship, and looked out into a sea of fans. My father, WWE Chairman and CEO, Vince McMahon, addressed the crowd and said: “Throughout this past year our WWE Superstars performed tirelessly for all of you. Week after week, month after month but we all knew there was something missing, something very important, THE most important, and that would be all of you, our fans, the WWE Universe. And as we emerge from this dreadful pandemic on behalf of our entire WWE family, we would simply like to say thank you and welcome you to, WRESTLEMANIA!”

The 25K in attendance erupted and the rest of us had tears in our eyes; reinforcing the meaning behind our new company signature that started the show, “Then. Now. Forever. Together.”

WrestleMania streamed exclusively from its new home on Peacock in the U.S., and WWE Network around the world, taking place over two nights and making history.

Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair became the first Black female Superstars to main event WrestleMania. We had live musical performances from Bebe Rexha, Wale, Ash Costello and Ashland Craft, and Grammy award-winning artist Bad Bunny and YouTube influencer Logan Paul found themselves getting in on the action inside the ring. Bad Bunny’s performance receiving praise from ESPN touting it as “…one of, if not the, most impressive showings by a celebrity in the ring.”

WWE also secured a record 14 new and returning blue chip partners for WrestleMania including Snickers as the Presenting Partner for the sixth consecutive year and Presenting Partner of the Main Event, NBCUniversal, Papa John’s, Cricket Wireless, P&G’s Old Spice, DraftKings, 2K, Nissin, and Credit One Bank.

Across YouTube, WWE.com and WWE social media content during WrestleMania Week, video views hit 1.1 billion, 31 million hours of content was consumed, and WWE-related content saw 115 million engagements. WrestleMania was also the world’s most-social program both nights of the weekend, delivering 71 Twitter trends in the U.S. alone.

For the first time we launched a series of NFTs featuring The Undertaker, had record breaking WrestleMania weekend e-commerce sales and record merchandise per capita sales in stadium.

WWE Superstars and executives participated in more than 300 interviews to promote our WrestleMania celebration including appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, TODAY Show, ESPN Get Up, FOX & Friends, E! and Access Hollywood. And because we always want to leave our host city better off than when we arrived, we held more than 10 community activations throughout the week, from our community caravan where we recognized 11 local community leaders; to teaming with FOX Sports and Good Sports to donate sports equipment to Special Olympics Florida; and working with Feeding Tampa Bay, University of FL IFAS program, the Healthy Living Coalition, Nestle Waters and the Tampa Bay Sports Commission to dedicate the first of five sustainable community gardens throughout the Tampa Bay area to combat food insecurity.

It takes the effort of so many different people to make WrestleMania happen, especially during a global pandemic. Thank you to our friends, partners, employees, and of course, our Superstars for making it possible.

I hope to see everyone in person soon,

Steph

Peacock Purges Racist WWE Segments From Streaming Archive

As WWE Network is set to move exclusively to NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service next month, the media company is removing objectionable material from the wrestling franchise’s archives.

WWE is shutting down WWE Network as a standalone service in the U.S. as of April 4, when customers will need to have a Peacock subscription to access the content. Ahead of the cutover, Peacock has been on-boarding WWE Network’s 17,000-plus-hour library of old programming — but some of WWE’s racist and controversial bits from years past are getting expunged in the transition.

Peacock began adding WWE Network content March 18, and fans have since noticed that some older content is missing.
Among the deleted scenes: A section of WWE’s “Survivor Series event from November 2005, in which chairman/showman Vince McMahon is shown backstage cheerfully greeting John Cena using the n-word within earshot of a confounded Booker T, who says, “Tell me he didn’t just say that.”

Also cut by Peacock is the WrestleMania 6 match from 1990 between the late “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Bad News Brown, in which Piper (a white performer) appeared in half-blackface to take on his Black opponent. NBCU’s edits to the WWE archive programming were first reported by PWInsider.
The content that is no longer available via Peacock has been previously available on the WWE Network platform. Since 2014, WWE Network has included this disclaimer on older material: “The following program is presented in its original form. It may contain some content that does not reflect WWE’s corporate views and may not be suitable for all viewers. WWE characters are fictitious and do not reflect the personal lives of the actors portraying them. Viewer discretion is advised.” The service also has allowed user to block access to selected programs using WWE Network’s parental-control settings.
Reps for NBCU and WWE declined to comment. The content in question is being removed for distribution on Peacock to conform with NBCU’s standards and practices policies, a source familiar with the situation told Variety.

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Stephanie McMahon On How WWE Will Operate After Vince McMahon Steps Down

WWE’s chief brand officer Stephanie McMahon joined Bloomberg Business of Sports to talk WWE’s move to NBC’s Peacock streaming service. During the interview, she documented WWE’s journey through the streaming landscape.  

“Vince’s perspective has always been to be slightly ahead of the curve,” said Stephanie. “You never want to be behind. So that’s why we were one of the first, five years ago, to launch our streaming service, the WWE Network. We did learn a lot from that time. Actually we were actually pretty far down the pike negotiating a linear deal. But our almost partners wanted to lock up our rights for about ten years. It was just a real long time, so we decided to take a step back and do deeper research. 

“We learned that our fans were consuming five times more online video than average. So we thought ‘let’s control our own destiny.’ And we doubled down and within eight months we launched WWE Network. 

Later Stephanie was asked about how Vince McMahon’s vision of WWE be presented when the Chairman of WWE finally steps down. Stephanie indicated it would be a group effort.

“I do think a lot of the institutional knowledge is important, particularly with regards toward the core content,” Stephanie said. “But it’s also surrounding our business with strong, smart executives. And that’s exactly what we have. So I do think it’s the marriage of institutional knowledge, the incredible production value, the creation of talent IP and storylines and really strong business executives to help us expand. I think it’s a combination of things. 

“I don’t think there will ever be a person to person replacement for Vince McMahon. He does too much. The landscape would look different however it shakes out. But I think it’s a marriage of those things.” 

credit Bloomberg Business of Sports and Wrestling Inc. for the transcription

WWE Network – Peacock Deal Reportedly Worth More Than $1 Billion

The new WWE Network – Peacock deal is reportedly worth more than $1 billion.

As noted, WWE announced today that NBCUniversal’s Peacock will become the exclusive new home for the WWE Network in the United States on Thursday, March 18. You can click here for full details on the announcement, including price points.

In an update, the Wall Street Journal reports that a person familiar with the deal says it runs for 5 years, and is valued at more than $1 billion. WWE and NBCU did not officially disclose terms of the multi-year agreement.

It’s also been noted that WWE and NBCU will share details on how existing WWE Network subscribers in the United States will be switched to the Peacock platform in the next few weeks. It remains to be seen if current subscribers will be automatically subscribed to Peacock, or how they will do it.

WWE Network will continue to operate as a stand-alone entity outside of the United States and nothing will change for international users.

WSJ also reported that Alan Gold, a partner at Creative Artists Agency’s advisory and investment Evolution Media, served as an adviser on the new WWE – Peacock deal.

NBCU’s Peacock Pins WWE Network Exclusive U.S. Streaming Rights

NBCUniversal’s Peacock soon will be the only place to watch WWE Network in the U.S.

WWE and NBCU reached a multiyear agreement giving Peacock exclusive streaming rights to WWE Network for American viewers. The over-the-top wrestling entertainment service’s existing U.S. subscribers (about 1.1 million in total) will be migrated over to Peacock Premium, where they’ll continue to get access to WWE Network but will pay 50% less per month while getting full access to the version of the Peacock Premium tier with ads.

Peacock will launch WWE Network on March 18, 2021, when Peacock will begin the rollout of more than 17,000 hours of WWE Network new, original, and library programming (both on-demand and on a new 24-hour channel).

The NBCU streamer will have all WWE live events — for no additional charge — including WrestleMania and SummerSlam, with Fastlane the first event to stream on Peacock on Sunday, March 21. (WWE fans who would prefer to order events via traditional pay-per-view will still have that option.)

WWE Network will be available on Peacock Premium (which includes ads) for $4.99 per month, half the price of WWE Network’s current $9.99/month pricing. The no-commercials Peacock Premium Plus plan, which costs $9.99/month, also will include WWE Network.

The companies plans to share details of how existing WWE Network subscribers in the U.S. will be switched to Peacock (e.g., whether they will be automatically subscribed to Peacock) in the next few weeks. Nothing will change for WWE Network subscribers outside the U.S.

Financial terms of the Peacock-WWE Network pact were not disclosed. According to sources, it’s a five-year deal worth more than $1 billion over that time period.

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Vince McMahon And WWE Executives Talk COVID-19, WWE NXT And Triple H, Saudi Arabia, More

WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon, Chief Financial Officer Kristina Salen, and SVP Financial Planning & Investor Relations Michael Weitz are hosting a Third Quarter 2020 Earnings call today from WWE headquarters in Stamford, CT. You can check out coverage of this evening's press release at this link. Below are highlights from the call: Weitz opens the call and welcomes everyone, going over the usual intro. Vince took over and said he's never felt as confident as he does right now with the upper management team WWE has.

 It's extraordinary what the team has done for the business. He touted the new energy and vibrancy, and optimism. In regards to where they can go in the future, this is a fun and exciting place to be. He praised new WWE President & Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan for what he's done to help the company, and revealed that Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon has taken on more responsibilities, praising her. Vince said he really feels great about the new WWE management team. Vince didn't get into the numbers, but says he just wanted to share how he feels about the current management team. He hands it over to Khan. Khan talks about his background since he's fairly new to the company. He mentions being an usher at WrestleMania 9 in Las Vegas. Khan says they are working to develop new WWE Studios content, including Total Bellas season 6 to premiere in November, and A&E's "Quest for Lost WWE Treasures" that will be hosted by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. This show will take viewers on the ultimate hunt to find some of WWE's most iconic lost memorabilia. This furthers the relationship with A&E. He mentions A&E has also ordered more episodes of the "Biography" documentaries.

Khan then announces that they have reached a groundbreaking new deal with Netflix, selling them a multi-part documentary on the life of Vince McMahon. This is one of the highest-budgeted documentaries in Netflix history. Bill Simmons will executive produce. Chris Smith, who directed Netflix's Fyre Fest documentary, will produce the Vince project, along with WWE Studios. Khan noted that they are still working on the alternate version of WWE Network but are unable to say when that will be ready. WWE Network subscriptions are up during the pandemic. Khan announces a 2021 event with Sony in India that will primarily feature Indian talent. It will air on Sony in India and will also be distributed here in the United States. Khan then introduces Stephanie. 

She talks about her role with the company and how everything they do is under the WWE Universe. She touts how WrestleMania 36 went from being sold out at Raymond James Stadium, to the "new normal" on a closed-set at the WWE Performance Center. Along with RAW and SmackDown, they experimented with new ways on the closed set but that wasn't good enough so they launched WWE ThunderDome, which made their shows feel alive again. They saw an increase in RAW and SmackDown ratings with the ThunderDome. She touts how they transformed the Performance Center arena into the Capitol Wrestling Center, the return to WWE NXT UK with BT Sports Studios in London. She mentioned how the production teams from Orlando, Stamford and London are working together, and praised the efforts. She also touted more than 50 billion video views on YouTube, and WWE changing their digital strategy, which led to more engagement. Stephanie also talked about how the company has been doing WWE Community virtual visits during the COVID-19 pandemic, partnering with UNICEF for their kids program and others. WWE's advertising campaigns and sponsor partnerships are outpacing industry standards and recent trends. Stephanie also touted recent celebrity involvement and how top brands continue to partner with WWE during the pandemic. She said WWE remains bullish, for 2021 and beyond, when it comes to growth, expansion, partnerships and everything else. New Chief Financial Officer Kristina Salen took over next and went over numbers from today's press release. WWE is evaluating their strategies for 2021 but the pandemic leaves a lot of uncertainty. She said RAW and SmackDown viewership improved from July - September, despite major sports competition. She said WWE can't say when ticketed live events will return at this point, but their intention is to return to live events as quickly and safety as possible. WWE anticipates Q4 2020 will have lower revenues than the same period in 2019. Part of the blame goes to the fact that they have no Saudi Arabia event in the quarter like they did in Q4 2019. WWE did not buy back any stock in Q3 under the buyback program, but they may in the future. It's now time for the Q&A portion of the call. They were asked about ratings and if there are any firm plans to improve them, and if ratings staying where they are will hurt negotiations for rights fees when they come back around. Vince said they have more fans than they've ever had but total audience is much bigger than just the TV audience. You can't just "hang your hat" on TV viewership being down. Vince mentioned how WWE is never off the air. You might say viewership is down but the overall viewership and engagement needs to be considered. WWE is doing everything they can to improve. The ThunderDome brought some fans back, but they want better execution of the creative, and better writing overall. Khan said TV in general has lost viewers but WWE viewership has not, overall. Consumption of WWE content is significantly up. WWE remains confident that TV rights fees will also go up. He touted how WWE topped the NHL Stanley Cup viewership in the key demographic, and they also did well against the Los Angeles Lakers playing at the end of the NBA season. They were asked about the MENA (Middle East & North Africa) TV rights and Vince said they are still negotiating them, and are still in contact with the Saudis. Vince said it will happen, but he doesn't know when. They were asked about potential WWE Network changes and they are open to anything except the sale of the Network, including licensing. WWE is in constant talks about possibly licensing the Network domestically and internationally. They are also constantly working on international ideas for content. The idea is to develop local content for international territories. There are currently no plans to add advertising to the WWE Network free version but this could change. Stephanie noted that they are testing different technologies that can be applied to different strategies. Salen noted that they are waiting for the return of live events and touring. They still have some employees who are furloughed, which makes for short-term financial cuts, but they are hoping to bring some of those employees back by the end of the year. In regards to if they will have no live events in 2021 or maybe for half of the year and if they will run the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia next year, Salen said they have not commented on the 2021 OIBDA (Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization) but they are diligently working on 2021 financial and operational plans with the executive team, noting that she and Khan are still getting settled into the job. She said they will have an update on the strategic focus for 2021 the next time they meet with investors. Regarding the India event planned for 2021, they are seeking the right talents and the right structure so that the event makes sense for all parties involved. This will be with Sony in India. Khan noted that ratings in October have held up despite a "cluttered" fall TV season. When asked if there is anything that NXT does that could be used to improve RAW or SmackDown, Khan praised the blue and red brands for how they have held up. Vince was asked what he and the company needs to see before they are willing to bring fans back to events amid the pandemic. The call President Trump held earlier this year with sports league bosses was mentioned. Vince said he was on that call but that was the extent of his discussions with Trump on the matter. When the coronavirus eases up and it's safe for fans and talents, that's all he can say for now in regards to when fans will be allowed back like normal. They were asked about WWE NXT and the length of the deal with the USA Network. Khan gave props to Triple H and his team, and touted the NXT Halloween Havoc ratings for last night. He said they are comfortable with the position they have with USA, and are enjoying the relationship with the network. The platform has led to many eyeballs on the talent. They don't typically discuss the length of TV deals unless their partners are on board with them doing so, but they feel like this deal is certainly long enough for them to have a long runway for Triple H and his team to grow the product as they have been doing. Khan said they feel good about all three products and how they are headed in the right direction.