The WWE is coming to Netflix.
In a blockbuster deal announced on Tuesday, the wrestling company said its weekly flagship programme WWE Raw would begin streaming on the platform next January.
CNBC reports the 10-year deal is valued at more than $5 billion and includes a guarantee for the first five years with an option from Netflix to extend the deal for another 10 years.
Netflix will stream Raw globally. It will be available to subscribers in the US, the UK, Canada and Latin America first, before being rolled out worldwide. Netflix will also host WWE programmes, such as SmackDown and Royal Rumble, as well as premium live events outside the US.
“We are thrilled to bring WWE live programming to our members around the world. WWE Raw is sports entertainment, which is right in the sweet spot of our sports business, which is the drama of sport,” said Netflix chief executive Ted Sarandos.
“We think of this as 52 weeks of live programming every week, every year. It feeds our desire to expand our live programming. Most importantly, fans love it.
“For decades, WWE has grown this multi-generational fanbase we believe we can serve and grow. We believe the WWE has historically been under-distributed outside of North America, and this is a global deal, so we can help them, they can help us build that fandom around the world.”
The deal will affect fans in the US, UK, Canada and Latin America first before being expanded to other countries later. So, what does this mean for fans in the Gulf region, and across the Middle East?
Currently, the show can be streamed on MBC under its subscription platform Shahid in a deal that began in 2022. Although details were not revealed about the duration of the agreement, WWE programming in the region is likely to continue until the contract expires and could then potentially be shipped to another platform.
The National has contacted MBC.
In the US, the wrestling company previously struck a deal to move SmackDown from Fox to USA Network, and it also reached an agreement to move its other show NXT from USA Network to The CW. That means by 2025, the company will have a weekly show on broadcast television, cable television and streaming.
However, according to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the Netflix deal appears to be the start of a “worldwide all-encompassing” agreement for the WWE to have all of its shows on the same service.
“Given the nature of the already existing international deal, one would come to the conclusion that at the end of these deals, Netflix would have a good shot at becoming the US home for all of the programming, and this would also open the door for Netflix to do additional WWE projects such as documentaries,” reports Meltzer.
However, he also notes that because of networking deals in the US, it would be several years before the WWE would be able to secure new rights with a single service.
Raw has always aired on live television since its debut in 1993 and bills itself as the "longest-running, episodic programme in TV history" with claims the show has 17.5 million viewers each week in the US.
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the most popular virtual currency in the world. It was created in 2009 as a new way of paying for things that would not be subject to central banks that are capable of devaluing currency. A Bitcoin itself is essentially a line of computer code. It's signed digitally when it goes from one owner to another. There are sustainability concerns around the cryptocurrency, which stem from the process of "mining" that is central to its existence.
The "miners" use computers to make complex calculations that verify transactions in Bitcoin. This uses a tremendous amount of energy via computers and server farms all over the world, which has given rise to concerns about the amount of fossil fuel-dependent electricity used to power the computers.
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'Laal Kaptaan'
Director: Navdeep Singh
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain
Rating: 2/5
Company%20profile
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Motori Profile
Date started: March 2020
Co-founder/CEO: Ahmed Eissa
Based: UAE, Abu Dhabi
Sector: Insurance Sector
Size: 50 full-time employees (Inside and Outside UAE)
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Safe City Group
Company name: Farmin
Date started: March 2019
Founder: Dr Ali Al Hammadi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: AgriTech
Initial investment: None to date
Partners/Incubators: UAE Space Agency/Krypto Labs
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
More on animal trafficking
The years Ramadan fell in May
Honeymoonish
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1971: The Year The Music Changed Everything
Director: Asif Kapadia
4/5
TOUR RESULTS AND FIXTURES
June 3: NZ Provincial Barbarians 7 Lions 13
June 7: Blues 22 Lions 16
June 10: Crusaders 3 Lions 12
June 13: Highlanders 23 Lions 22
June 17: Maori All Blacks 10 Lions 32
June 20: Chiefs 6 Lions 34
June 24: New Zealand 30 Lions 15
June 27: Hurricanes 31 Lions 31
July 1: New Zealand 21 Lions 24
July 8: New Zealand v Lions
Drivers’ championship standings after Singapore:
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 263
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - 235
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - 212
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - 162
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari - 138
6. Sergio Perez, Force India - 68
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
