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RAW MOVING TO NETFLIX! EVERYBODY PANIC!!!!


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Personally I feel like SD! being on FOX was a huge part of WWE's recent boom period.  Money aside, they've taken a massive step back in exposure with this recent round of negotiations.  Gonna take a while for everything to shake out but I could see this hurting house shows, merch and other core business metrics, but it'll be masked by the massive rights fees.  But overall this feels like a massive step backwards to me

Netflix is extremely guarded with their numbers and IIRC SAG-AFTRA didn't get the concessions they were after in that regard.  Doubt we ever get accurate numbers for RAW

We're also at a time where there's so much wrestling content out there, so much free media in general, people are already cutting back and consolidating their streaming budgets.......I don't really see a huge upside for Netflix either

Edited by ExcellenceofAirPollution
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Also the big thing I gathered from the media car wash on this is that the only "story" Cody will have at Wrestlemania is being the bottom meat on a Roman Reigns stack em sandwich with the Rock on top.  No way you aren't putting a board of directors guy off the show now

 

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8 minutes ago, ExcellenceofAirPollution said:

We're also at a time where there's so much wrestling content out there, so much free media in general, people are already cutting back and consolidating their streaming budgets.......I don't really see a huge upside for Netflix either

The upside is with the media marketplace in a state of flux Netflix has options to extend the deal out for up to 20 years. That's a long time to lock up a premier property. 

It's also a great way for them to shift over to an advertising model.  

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All I know about Netflix is that they exploit their creators terribly so that they can give millions to idiot stand ups who still think men holding hands is a punchline worthy of the Apollo. Sounds right up WWE's business model

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35 minutes ago, ExcellenceofAirPollution said:

Personally I feel like SD! being on FOX was a huge part of WWE's recent boom period.  Money aside, they've taken a massive step back in exposure with this recent round of negotiations.  Gonna take a while for everything to shake out but I could see this hurting house shows, merch and other core business metrics, but it'll be masked by the massive rights fees.  

 

This is something I have my eye on, too. You really can’t overestimate the impact that Smackdown being on network TV and PLE’s being available for rock bottom prices on a Peacock sub had on fueling their current business. Increasing barriers to access the programming will absolutely have a trickle down effect on those metrics you listed. Of course, collecting roughly a billion per year in TV rights fees insulates you from any significant harm, but it’ll be interesting to watch.

 

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I will say that moving to Netflix makes a lot more sense if the long-term strategy is to end touring and move to being a TV product only, including possibly moving to taping Raw (and the other shows?) at a central location.

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5 minutes ago, John from Cincinnati said:

Is it that random? Streamers looking to get live sports or sports-adjacent content has been a long developing story.

I think he meant WWE to Netflix specifically was random. Which is true...I personally didn't hear anything about Netflix being a possible destination before this morning.

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The really interesting thing to me is how it sits with the admittedly limited NBC deal done last year - including those primetime specials. It sort of locks NBC up from looking at AEW.......I mean probably at any rate.

In the UK, Sky being without WWE feels like a moment. Sky has been showing WWE content even longer than ppl may realise..I remember watching Survivor Series 88 taped off Sky Channel. Later the PPVs were moved to Sky Movies and then Sky Sports.

If you're Tony, do you think 'f it' and consider running Monday nights?

The other thing I am wondering about is...XFL?

 

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5 hours ago, Kevin Wilson said:

This is not the main thing to take away from this but something I thought about - after 30 years of talking about RAW Ratings (UP? DOWN? VS NITRO? VS TNA? VS AEW?) that will finally end. Netflix not only doesn't like releasing numbers but the numbers wouldn't be 1:1 anyway. Their viewing reports (if they keep releasing them) will be interesting but aren't measured the same way. What will people do with their extra free time.

There's a flipside to this: the viewing data Netflix will be collecting will be epic, and presumably WWE get access to a lot of the more pertinent stuff. This is not to be underestimated.

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33 minutes ago, Infinit said:

I think he meant WWE to Netflix specifically was random. Which is true...I personally didn't hear anything about Netflix being a possible destination before this morning.

I guess that’s fair in the sense that the main streamer I kept hearing people bring up as a possibility was Amazon. 

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Personally, I see no change to my viewing habits. I don’t have Netflix now and won’t be getting it. I don’t watch RAW now anyway. If they keep the Network on Peacock where I can access the library, stuff like Dinner For Me and the rare PPV i want to watch. 

I think it’s a definitely downgrade in visibility, but I think it likely just means the A roster will be on SD (still).

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14 minutes ago, John from Cincinnati said:

I guess that’s fair in the sense that the main streamer I kept hearing people bring up as a possibility was Amazon. 

Me too. Heard alot being bantered about Amazon synergy with buying merch during the shows and stuff like that. Netflix totally came out of left field...I don't remember reading about them being an option once.

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7 minutes ago, Godfrey said:

Nick Khan says Raw is staying on Mondays

That was a very qualified answer while also speaking a great deal about the stiff football competition. I think if they were moving, they wouldn’t make that clear until closer to the move so as not to confuse people. It’s eleven months away, why rush to announce such a move? 

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12 minutes ago, zendragon said:

I wonder if Lucha Underground was Netflix dipping their toe into the water

SRS seemed to hint at the OVW docu-series making an impact. Will be interested if he does any reporting on that.

Edited by John from Cincinnati
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34 minutes ago, odessasteps said:

Personally, I see no change to my viewing habits. I don’t have Netflix now and won’t be getting it. I don’t watch RAW now anyway. If they keep the Network on Peacock where I can access the library, stuff like Dinner For Me and the rare PPV i want to watch. 

I think it’s a definitely downgrade in visibility, but I think it likely just means the A roster will be on SD (still).

I wonder if it's more or less of a downgrade in visibility than the move to TNN/Spike was. 

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2 minutes ago, John from Cincinnati said:

Am I crazy for thinking Netflix is ubiquitous enough that it’s at worst a neutral move in terms of visibility? Among streamers, I think it’s the only one you could credibly make that claim about. 

If you think globally, then absolutely. Hell turns out I didn't even know what channel Raw was on in the UK. From 2024, I'm not going to have that problem.

US is still a huge market, but there's a bigger picture unfolding slowly but surely.

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1 hour ago, StretchMediatedHypertrophy said:

The really interesting thing to me is how it sits with the admittedly limited NBC deal done last year - including those primetime specials. It sort of locks NBC up from looking at AEW.......I mean probably at any rate.

In the UK, Sky being without WWE feels like a moment. Sky has been showing WWE content even longer than ppl may realise..I remember watching Survivor Series 88 taped off Sky Channel. Later the PPVs were moved to Sky Movies and then Sky Sports.

If you're Tony, do you think 'f it' and consider running Monday nights?

The other thing I am wondering about is...XFL?

 

Sky lost WWE like 4 years ago. They've been on BT Sports/ TNT Sports since January 2020.

As far as the third hour, RAW as a 3 hour show with 42 minutes of Wrestling Television and 18 minutes of commercials, is 126 minutes long. A 2 hour show without commercials but with an overrun is like the same length.

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