WWE and Netflix: A Guide To The Tangled International Rights

WWE Superstars and Executives at Netflix HQ December 4th, 2024.

It’s almost time! World Wrestling Entertainment is only 1 month away from moving its weekly series and Premium Live Events (PLEs) to Netflix in about 80% of the international market. Unfortunately, some countries and territories will be left outside looking in. Due to pre-existing contracts, there are some notable areas where WWE rights will remain with their current networks and partners for at least another year, if not more. So, we’ve put together a helpful guide to understand the tangled rights of WWE worldwide.

We wanted to make it easier for you to try to decode this tricky rights situation by figuring out who has the current rights in big markets like Japan and India and when those rights were last renewed. With that data, estimating or uncovering the expiry of those WWE television / WWE Network rights is possible. We assume that as old rights expire, WWE will move to Netflix. WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque implied this earlier in the year, and the initial press release said, “Additional countries and regions are to be added over time.”

Picture: WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque – Sipa USA via AP

WWE has also begun live streaming Raw and Smackdown on YouTube back in October for many countries, some of which are not getting any WWE content on Netflix in 2025 and others which are. The countries currently benefiting are:

Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bolivia, Brazil, Belarus, Belize, Serbia, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Romania, Guatemala, Georgia, Greenland, Croatia, Honduras, Portugal, Paraguay, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Ecuador, Solomon Islands, Spain, Montenegro, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Macedonia, Finland, Fiji, Falkland Islands, Nicaragua, Netherlands, Norway, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Colombia, Chile, Czech Republic, Costa Rica, Kyrgyzstan, Suriname, El Salvador, Slovakia, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, Sweden, Denmark, Uruguay, Lao PDR, Taiwan, Thailand, Venezuela, Iceland, Armenia, Albania, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Indonesia

While researching the pre-existing WWE Network deals, I noticed they often seem poised to expire just before Wrestlemania so that they can use that in their negotiations and launch in new locations with the biggest event of the wrestling year. We’ve spotlighted a few major markets waiting for WWE rights to transition to Netflix, as shown below in order of their expected deal expiry.

India

In India, a 5-year renewal with SonyLiv was signed in March 2020. It can be assumed that WWE rights will expire at the end of March 2025 and move to Netflix at this time. If this pans out, Wrestlemania 41 will be the launching point.

United States

Earlier this year, WWE CEO Nick Khan confirmed that Wrestlemania 42 in 2026 would be part of the next rights deal. While he maintained that a renewal with Peacock was possible, it’s highly improbable. It’s highly likely that in early 2026, Netflix will begin a massive marketing campaign heralding the arrival of WWE’s PLEs as part of the Road to Wrestlemania.

Picture: WWE CEO Nick Khan – Tony Florez

Switzerland / Austria

A pre-existing deal with ProSieben MAXX and Joyn looks to last until spring 2026. Like others, it will probably allow for a Wrestlemania 43 transition to Netflix and launch! There has been recent confusion as to whether Germany will be held back because of this deal. However, a recent development that has seen WWE landing pages added to Netflix heavily suggests there have been changes.

MENA

MBC’s Shahid platform has held WWE Network rights since Wrestlemania in April 2022. We would not be surprised if the deal were for 4 years, which would line up with the WWE Network rights in the USA expiring on Peacock in March 2026.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Since November 2022, WWE television and streaming rights have been with streaming service Showmax and cable channel SuperSport. Showmax is more popular than Netflix in this region, so WWE might not be interested in a change. The length of the current deal remains unknown. 

France

Free-to-air channel L’Équipe has hosted WWE Raw since March 2018. WWE Network remains for Smackdown, NXT, and the PLEs. No information is known at this time with regard to when this deal may end.

Japan

Unfortunately for WWE fans in Japan, the ABEMA streaming service is in it for the long haul. WWE Network has been promised to Abema since October 1st, 2023. Since this multi-year deal is just over a year old, it could be 3-5 more years before WWE PLEs and series can move to Netflix in Japan.

Picture: WWE wrestler Asuka during WWE’s summer tour of Japan

The Philippines

The WWE Network deal with Disney+ came to an end recently. On November 21st, 2024, WWE sent out e-mails to WWE fans informing them that the WWE network would relaunch in The Philippines in time for November 30th’s Survivor Series: War Games PLE and suggesting it would last at least through 2025. Apparently, the WWE on Disney+ was a complete disaster. One fan explained the situation.

“Raw, Smackdown, NXT airs live each week here on a separate streaming service called Blast TV. It’s a sports streaming service, while yes, WWE Network just came back here (FINALLY!). Disney+ was our worst nightmare. Sponsorships are covered [Note: Disney+ PH digitally “covered up” sponsorships shown on WWE TV which was distracting to viewers] , and historical content were almost non-existent. PLEs only air live, and they don’t go on demand anymore. An absolute Godspend (sic) WWE Network made a timely return, was able to re-subscribe, and all the content is still here.”

It’s difficult to predict when the rights could move to Netflix.

Currently, WWE has confirmed for Netflix in over 90 countries/territories via landing pages that are present and viewable through Netflix’s search page. In addition, 10 countries appear only to be getting access to WWE Raw. We will keep you posted on anything we learn about the status of Smackdown and NXT as we get more information.

Markets with Full WWE Network on Netflix:

1. Albania
2. Algeria
3. Andorra
4. Argentina
5. Armenia
6. Australia
7. Azerbaijan
8. Bahrain
9. Belarus
10. Belize
11. Bolivia
12. Bosnia & Herzegovina
13. Brazil
14. Brunei
15. Bulgaria
16. Canada
17. Chile
18. Colombia
19. Costa Rica
20. Croatia
21. Cuba
22. Cyprus
23. Czechia
24. Denmark
25. Djibouti
26. Ecuador
27. Egypt
28. Estonia
29. Finland
30. Georgia
31. Germany 
32. Greenland
33. Hungary
34. Iceland
35. Indonesia
36. Iraq
37. Ireland
38. Isle of Man
39. Israel
40. Jordan
41. Kazakhstan
42. Kuwait
43. Kyrgyzstan
44. Laos
45. Latvia
46. Libya
47. Lebanon
48. Lithuania
49. Macau
50. Malaysia
51. Mauritania
52. Mexico – Announcement
53. Moldova
54. Monaco
55. Mongolia
56. Montenegro
57. Morocco
58. Myanmar
59. The Netherlands
60. New Zealand
61. Nicaragua
62. North Macedonia
63. Norway
64. Oman
65. Panama
66. Papua New Guinea
67. Peru
68. Philippines
69. Poland
70. Qatar
71. Romania
72. Saudi Arabia
73. Serbia
74. Singapore
75. Slovakia
76. Slovenia
77. Somalia 
78. Spain
79. Suriname
80. Sweden
81. Taiwan
82. Thailand
83. Tunisia
84. Türkiye
85. Ukraine
86. United Arab Emirates
87. United Kingdom
88. Uruguay
89. Vanuatu
90. Uzbekistan
91. Venezuela
92. Yemen

Markets with WWE Raw only:

1. Antigua & Barbuda
2. Barbados 
3. Dominican Republic
4. El Salvador 
5. Greece
6. Guatemala
7. Guyana
8. Honduras 
9. Jamaica
10. Puerto Rico  – Announcement
11. United States of America

Markets Without WWE Network on Netflix:

 We will continue to update this article as more countries receive confirmation of WWE Network on Netflix or we learn of expiring deals across the globe. Hopefully soon, WWE will truly live up to the final word in its tagline: “Then, Now, Forever, Together.”