UPDATED: Shares of TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of WWE and UFC, popped on news of its 10-year deal with Netflix for “Monday Night Raw” that delivers a significant step-up in fees for the WWE franchise.
TKO’s deal WWE “Raw” deal with Netflix, announced Tuesday morning, has an initial 10-year term for an aggregate rights fee of more than $5 billion, or $500 million annually. That’s up from WWE’s current five-year deal for “Raw” with NBCUniversal, said to be worth approximately $250 million-$260 million per year. Netflix has the option to extend the pact for an additional 10 years — or to opt out after five years.
As of 11 a.m. ET, TKO stock was up 18.1%, to $91.40 per share, cooling off after opening up nearly 24% Tuesday. Shares of Netflix nosed up around 0.3% in midmorning trading. For Netflix, the WWE deal represents its biggest bet to date in sports programming. Separately Tuesday, Netflix garnered 18 Oscars nominations, including seven for “Maestro,” the biggest haul among all studios. The streaming giant is scheduled to report Q4 2023 earnings after market close Tuesday.
In addition to the multiyear deal with Netflix for WWE “Monday Night Raw,” TKO Group announced that Dwayne Johnson has joined its board. Under TKO’s agreement with Johnson, he will provide promotional, licensing and other services to the company — and Johnson gains ownership of the trademarked name “The Rock.”
TKO Group wasformed last year by the merger of WWE and UFC, which was engineered by Endeavor (the existing owner of UFC).
Beginning in January 2025, Netflix will be the exclusive new home of “Raw” in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Latin America, among other territories, with additional countries and regions to be added over time. In addition, under the agreement, Netflix will become the home for all WWE shows and specials outside the U.S., as available, inclusive of “Raw” and WWE’s other weekly shows — “SmackDown” and “NXT” — as well as the company’s premium live events, including WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble. WWE’s documentaries, original series and forthcoming projects will also be available on Netflix internationally beginning in 2025.
