WWE and Netflix: A Guide To The Tangled International Rights

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55 years ago

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 WWE Raw only:

Antigua & Barbuda
Barbados
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Greece
Guatemala
Guyana
Honduras
Jamaica
Puerto Rico – Announcement
United States of America

Markets Without WWE Network on Netflix:

Market	Existing License
Afghanistan
Angola	Showmax
Austria	ProSieben MAXX
Bahamas
Bangladesh	Sony Sports Network
Belgium	ABXplore
Benin	Showmax
Bhutan	Sony Sports Network
Botswana	Showmax
Burkina Faso	Showmax
Burundi	Showmax
Cambodia	Cambodian Television Network
Cameroon	Showmax
Cape Verde	Showmax
Central African Republic	Showmax
Chad	Showmax
Comoros
Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)	Showmax
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Showmax
Dominica
Equatorial Guinea	Showmax
Eritrea	Showmax
Eswatini	Showmax
Ethiopia	Showmax
Fiji
France	L’Équipe
Gabon	Showmax
Gambia	Showmax
Ghana	Showmax
Grenada
Guinea	Showmax
Guinea-Bissau	Showmax
Haiti
Hong Kong	SonyLIV
India	Sony Sports Network
Iran
Italy	Disovery+
Japan	Abema
Kenya	Showmax
Kiribati
Lesotho
Liberia
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Madagascar	Showmax
Malawi	Showmax
Maldives
Mali	Showmax
Malta
Mauritius
Mozambique
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal	Ten 1
Niger
Nigeria	Showmax
Pakistan	Ten Sports
Palau
Paraguay
Portugal	YouTube
Republic of the Congo	Showmax
Rwanda	Showmax
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
São Tomé and Príncipe
Sierra Leone
Solomon Islands
South Africa	Showmax
South Korea	IB Sports
Sri Lanka	Sony Sports Network
Switzerland	ProSieben MAXX
Tajikistan
Tanzania	Showmax
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda	Showmax
Vatican City
Vietnam
Zambia	Showmax
Zimbabwe	Showmax

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.”