WWE will look to build on its post-WrestleMania XL momentum during Fox’s April 12 Friday Night SmackDown telecast after posting its best yearly viewership numbers for its Monday Night Raw earlier this week.

USA Network’s April 8 three-hour Monday Night Raw event — airing a day after WWE’s April 6-7 WrestleMania XL weekend “premium live event” streamed on Peacock — averaged 2.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen numbers published by Cagesideseats.com. It marks the first time the long-running series has hit the 2 million viewer mark this year.

The Monday Night Raw show featured appearances by WWE superstars Cody Rhodes and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who both appeared in WrestleMania XL’s main-event match, in which Rhodes won the WWE Universal Championship from Roman Reigns. Its strong viewership came despite competing against the March Madness men’s championship game between UConn and Purdue, which drew a combined 14.8 million viewers across TBS, TNT and truTV.

Overall, WrestleMania XL’s weekend audience on Peacock was up 41% across both nights compared to last year, according to WWE, although neither the streamer nor WWE released specific numbers. The two-night event was the most socially viewed WrestleMania of all time, with more than 660 million views consumed over the two days, WWE said.

Both Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown will soon have new distribution homes. USA signed a five-year deal to air SmackDown beginning this October, while Netflix will exclusively stream Monday Night Raw in 2025 as part of a 10-year, $5 billion deal with WWE parent TKO Group Holdings reached this past January.

Peacock will step into the wrestling ring this weekend to offer exclusive coverage of the WWE’s live flagship event, WrestleMania XL.

The live, two-night event launches April 6, and will feature many of the WWE’s marquee superstars, including veteran grappler and actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson — who will compete in the squared ring for the first time in eight years —along with Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, according to the WWE.   

Peacock has exclusively live streamed each WrestleMania since 2021 when it secured rights to content from the now defunct WWE Network. That deal expires in 2026. 

The WWE, which in 2023 was acquired by Endeavor Group Holdings and merged with the UFC mixed-martial arts franchise under Endeavor's TKO Group Holdings company, recently secured long-term distribution deals for several of its other television properties. 

This past September, USA Network signed a five-year deal to air the WWE’s Friday Night SmackDown series beginning this October, while last November The CW secured distribution rights to the WWE’s NXT weekly series. 

Also, Netflix will exclusively stream the WWE’s long-running Monday Night Raw weekly series in 2025 as part of a 10-year, $5 billion deal with TKO Group Holdings reached this past January. 

Netflix has made a big move into live programming, making a $5 billion deal with TKO Group Holdings’s WWE that will bring the weekly show Raw to the streamer starting in 2025.

Netflix will also become the international home for other WWE shows, including SmackDown and NXT in 2025, plus big events such as WrestleMania, SummerSlam and the Royal Rumble.

Netflix is paying $5 billion over 10 years with an option for another 10 years. Netflix can also opt out after five years, according to documents filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Also Read: WWE’s ‘Friday Night SmackDown’ To Return to USA Network

Netflix has been wary about moving into the expensive arena of live sports and its executives have said they have no plans to stream live sports. Netflix said similar things about not putting advertising on the service. But times change and strategies change and soon Netflix will have both advertising and live sports entertainment.

“We are excited to have WWE Raw, with its huge and passionate multigenerational fan base, on Netflix,” Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria said. “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.”

Also Read: WWE’s ‘NXT’ Will Move to The CW From USA Network in October 2024

Raw has aired 1,600 episodes to date and appears weekly, creating a huge amount of live content 52 weeks a year. Raw was the highest-rated show on NBCUniversal’s USA Network, drawing 17.5 million unique viewers over the years.

“This deal is transformative,” Mark Shapiro, TKO president and chief operating officer, said. “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.”

The WWE’s Friday Night SmackDown series will return to USA Network in 2024 as part of a five-year partnership with new WWE owners Endeavor Group Holdings. 

Friday Night SmackDown, which currently runs on Fox broadcasting, aired on NBCUniversal-owned USA Network from 2016 to 2019. The series has performed well for Fox, regularly rating as the top-rated show in the 18-49 viewer demographic, according to the WWE.

Along with pinning down SmackDown rights, USA Network will produce four primetime specials per year that will air on NBC, according to the network.

USA Network currently airs the WWE's Monday Night Raw and WWE NXT series, but those rights are set to expire in 2024.

The WWE's deal with NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service, which includes the wrestling organization's pay-per-view events, ends in 2026.

“It’s a privilege and thrill to continue NBCU’s decades-long partnership with WWE which has helped cement USA Network’s consistent position as the top-rated cable entertainment network in live viewership” said NBCU Entertainment president Frances Berwick said in a statement. “With Friday nights on USA, primetime specials on NBC, and the WWE hub on Peacock, we’ll continue to use the power of our portfolio to super-serve this passionate fanbase.”

WWE President Nick Khan added: “NBCUniversal has been a tremendous partner of WWE for decades. We are excited to extend this longstanding relationship by bringing SmackDown to USA Network on Friday nights and look forward to debuting multiple WWE special events annually on NBC.”

World Wrestling Entertainment may have slightly missed revenue targets — and overperformed on cash flow — in the third quarter, but executives spent the majority of a conference call with analysts talking about the potential for big gains in its renewal talks for its flagship shows — Monday Night Raw and SmackDown — which are expected to commence early next year.

WWE reported Q3 revenue of $256 million, about 1% below analysts consensus estimates of $259 million, but beat and raised estimates for cash flow in the period. WWE said adjusted OIBDA for the period was $78 million, 15% above consensus estimates of $68 million and driven by strong live event revenue of $28 million. As a result, WWE increased its full-year AOIBDA estimate to between $305 million and $315 million from the previous mark of $270 million to $300 million.

On a conference call with analysts to discuss results, WWE president and chief revenue officer Nick Khan said rights for Raw will come up for renewal with Hulu during the back half of 2022, while international licensing for its direct-to-consumer offering WWE Network expire at around the same time.

Khan seemed especially encouraged by the Hulu talks, adding that Raw “has a substantial and recurring audience who watch the show via delayed viewing week to week” on the streaming service. He noted that the last time WWE and Hulu negotiated those rights — in 2018 — the streaming landscape was considerably different than today.

Regarding international licensing, Khan said that WWE has a strategy to optimize WWE Network’s value outside the U.S., and a model that programming buyers are responding to.

“As so many U.S.-based companies look to go international overnight, it sets up a competitive global landscape that none of us have seen over the course of our careers,” Khan said on the call. “We continue to believe that will garner great results.”

But the bulk of the optimism was for Raw and SmackDown renewals in the U.S. Khan pointed out that during the last negotiation, WWE was able to more than triple its fees from $130 million for the shows to $470 million.

“We are as bullish now on those rights as we were when we went into the prior negotiations,” Khan said.

The CFO pointed to recent sports rights deals for the NFL, NHL, Major League Baseball, the SEC, La Liga and Wimbledon, and pointed out that other interested players like Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and Netflix are sniffing around the sports market.

Amazon and Apple are reportedly in the lead among the possible bidders for NFL Sunday Ticket and Netflix chief operating officer Ted Sarandos has said publicly that he would rather own sports properties than run them.

In a research note, Wells Fargo Securities media analyst Steven Cahall said NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service is expected to be the bidder to beat for the WWE properties.

“We expect Peacock to go hard for the re-air rights given it already has Raw and NXT on linear + domestic streaming rights on Peacock, so it's really a question about whether media companies compete for the rights against NBCU,” Cahall wrote. “International is tougher to pin down as no comprehensive ex-US OTT rights have ever been struck to our knowledge, so a single deal for WWE Network [outside the continental U.S.] would be truly groundbreaking.

The WWE will offer a special Memorial Day video tribute during its May 25 WWE Monday Night Raw telecast on USA Network, the organization said Thursday.

The short video offers a special tribute to the fallen men and women who have served in the United States Armed Forces, according to the WWE. Watch the WWE video tribute below. 

With pro wrestling fans home during the coronavirus crisis, streaming service WWE Network has opened up a “vast portion” of its library for a limited time.

The subscription video on demand service will make thousands of hours of content, including every WrestleMania in history as well as other PPV events like Royal Rumble, and original documentaries, the company said. It's unclear how long the free content will be available to audiences. 

The move follows the WWE’s decision last week to air on ESPN three classic WrestleMania event over three weeks leading up to the company’s April 4-5 WrestleMania 36 event. 

With pro wrestling fans home during the coronavirus crisis, streaming service WWE Network has opened up a “vast portion” of its library for a limited time.

The subscription video on demand service will make thousands of hours of content, including every WrestleMania in history as well as other PPV events like Royal Rumble, and original documentaries, the company said. It's unclear how long the free content will be available to audiences. 

The move follows the WWE's decision last week to air on ESPN three classic WrestleMania events over three weeks leading up to the company’s April 4-5 WrestleMania 36 event. 

Related: ESPN to Air Classic WWE WrestleMania Events 

WWE has named veteran pro wrestling executives Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff to newly created executive director roles, the wrestling entertainment outfit said Thursday.

Heyman, formerly president of the ECW pro wrestling company, will serve as executive director of Monday Night Raw while Bischoff, former president of the WCW and a New York Times best-selling author, has been tapped as executive director of SmackDown Live, both reporting directly to WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon.

In their new roles, Heyman and Bischoff will oversee the creative development of live weekly shows as well as ensure integration across all platforms and lines of business, said WWE officials. 

USA’s WWEMonday Night Raw and NBC Sports’ Winter Olympic coverage dominanted social media traffic for television shows on President's Day, according to Nielsen.

Raw averaged 1.2 million Facebook, Instagram and Twitter interactions last night, topping all entertainment-based shows, said Nielsen’s Daily Social Content ratings chart. ABC’s The Bachelor was second, followed by VH1’s Love & Hip Hop and Love & Hip Hop Miami. PBS’ Independent Lens rounded out the top five.

NBC Sports drew 1.6 million social media interactions for its combined Winter Olympics coverage on CNBC, NBC and NBCSN to lead all live sports programming for the night, according to Nielsen.

WWE will team with the Susan G. Komen for a third consecutive breast cancer awareness campaign, the organization said Monday.

The pro wrestling organization will launch its “Courage Conquer Cure” campaign today (Sept. 29) beginning with its Monday Night Raw telecast in which the WWE Superstars and Divas will wear co-branded Susan G. Komen and WWE apparel. In addition WWE platforms will be  “going pink,” said the company.

The campaign will continue throughout National Breast Cancer Awareness month in October, and the WWE will donate to Komen 20% of the retail sales price of all co-branded merchandise sold on WWEShop.com and at WWE live events, as well as 5% of all other WWE merchandise sold on WWEShop.com. WWE fans for the first time will have the option of donating $1, $5 or $10 upon checkout from WWEShop.com with all proceeds benefiting Komen, said the company.

The WWE will promote the campaign through WWE Network, TV and pay-per-view broadcasts, live events, PSAs, digital and social media to generate awareness and encourage fans to get involved. In addition, the campaign will also be featured on the hit reality series Total Divas during an episode that airs on Oct. 19 on E!.

 “Susan G. Komen has truly transformed the world’s support for breast cancer research and awareness,” said WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon in a statement. “WWE is exceptionally proud to continue our partnership with Komen and be at the forefront of this movement, as we continue to utilize our global platforms to raise awareness and funds for a disease that affects so many people.”

World Wrestling Entertainment stock plunged more than 40% on Friday, a day after it had announced a disappointing carriage deal with NBC Universal and warned investors it would need to attract more subscribers to its over-the-top network to make up for pay-per view losses.

WWE announced on Thursday that it has secured a multi-year deal with NBCU’s USA Network for its Monday Night Raw franchise and Syfy channel for Friday Night Smackdown.

The deal ended months of speculation regarding the future of the programs, but apparently fell short of expectations. Analysts had speculated that the shows – Monday Night Raw is USA’s top rated show and is one of the main reasons that network is tops with young adults – could double or even triple their rates. In a recent research report, CJS Securities analyst Daniel Moore said the Raw and Smackdown deals “will shape the direction of earnings and cash flow for the next several years.” In an interview back in March, Moore said that at least of doubling of those fees was already built into the stock price.  WWE did not reveal what it received from NBCU in the new deal, but in a Friday note, Moore estimated the increase was about 85% above the old deal. Coupled with its announcement that it would need to add between 1.3 million and 1.4 million subscribers to its over-the-top channel to make up for Pay-Per-View losses, and investors apparently were spooked.

The NBCU deal is just the latest disappointment for WWE investors. In April, the company had said it added 667,000 new subscribers to its over-the-top network,  far short of the 1-million-plus additions investors were hoping for. WWE has said it expects to reach the 1 million subscriber milestone by the end of the year.

“Given management’s more optimistic tone and the fact that other major sports franchises have garnered much higher increases, this outcome is likely to be viewed as disappointing by many investors,” Moore wrote in a note to clients Friday.

WWE stock fell as much as 47% ($9.38 each) to $10.55 per share in early trading Friday. The stock closed at $11.27 per share, down $8.66 or 43.5%.