Update On How Much The WWE Raw-Netflix Deal Is Actually Worth

The increase in the United States media rights for Monday Night Raw is seemingly more modest than initially reported. 

WWE reached a deal with Netflix this month that will see WWE Raw move to the streaming service in the United States from January 2025. Outside of the United States, all WWE programming, including SmackDown, NXT, and premium live events will be moving to Netflix from 2025, including in the United Kingdom. 

It emerged following the announcement that the Netflix deal was worth $5 billion over 10 years, although the streaming service has the option to extend the contract by a further 10 years or cancel it after five years. There was no word on how much the Raw portion of the deal was worth but TKO CEO Ari Emanuel claimed it was in line with Wall Street's expectations, suggesting the media rights for Raw were around $387 million per year on Netflix. 

Emanuel's assumption may have been optimistic, though. An estimate from Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics suggested the new deal was a 30 percent increase from the current deal of $265 million per year with the USA Network. 

Brandon Ross from LightShed Partners came to a similar conclusion, estimating the Raw-Netflix deal represented a 20 to 30 percent increase. David Baldini of PWInsider, meanwhile, estimated the Raw deal with Netflix was a 33 percent increase. 

A 30 percent increase would give the Raw-Netflix deal a value of $345 million per year, while a 20 percent increase would mean the deal is worth $318 million per year. Both figures are ultimately below the Wall Street expectations of $387 million per year. 

Brandon Thurston also reported the WWE-Netflix deal is backloaded, seemingly due to more and more WWE programming being added to Netflix in international territories as the deal progresses. All WWE programming will be moving to Netflix in the UK, Canada, and Latin America in 2025 but it is believed shows won't be moving to Netflix in India until early 2026.