Netflix is pleased with WWE‘s performance and sees international growth as the biggest opportunity to expand the partnership.
Gabe Spitzer, Netflix’s Vice President of Global Live Sports and Entertainment, discussed the topic on Tuesday’s Sports Media with Richard Deitsch.
Spitzer said RAW’s U.S. performance has hit every metric Netflix hoped for, while international results have exceeded some expectations.
“I’ve been a fan for a long time and, you know, great partners over there with people like Paul Levesque and Lee Fitting and Nick Khan. They’ve been great partners. and I think we’re thrilled with the results so far,” Spitzer said. “We knew in the US, with something like Raw having that every week, there was going to be that passionate loyal fan base and they are going to show up, and they have come in expected ways over to Netflix and in predictable ways. It’s hit every metric that we’ve hoped for on the US side.
“I think the place where we’ve been surprised in a good way and that will continue to grow is outside of the US. That’s really where we see the potential to continue to grow this partnership is, in the US we have Raw only, outside of the US in most countries around the world, we’re the home for all of WWE. So that’s Raw, that’s SmackDown, that’s NXT, and that’s the big Premium Live Events every month — be it WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, or SummerSlam.”
The distribution split is key to the strategy. In the United States, Netflix carries RAW only, while in most countries around the world it streams RAW, SmackDown, NXT and WWE’s Premium Live Events.
Spitzer said the global footprint has also led Netflix and WWE to work together on identifying countries where live events can help grow viewership.
“It’s been cool to see as different countries have come online — as an example, Italy this year came online and they did a big PLE, the Clash in Italy, there shortly after. So they’re working with us and they’re saying, ‘Hey, where are the countries you want to continue to grow or how can we boost that viewership or can we bring an event there?’ They’re going back to Australia this year, they’ve been to Europe a bunch of times, they’re going down to Mexico in just a couple of weeks [September 14] for a big Raw that we’re really excited about.”
Italy is one of the most recent examples. All of WWE’s weekly programming and Premium Live Events moved exclusively to Netflix in the country on April 1. Two months later, on May 31, WWE held the Clash in Italy at Inalpi Arena in Turin, the company’s first PLE in the country.
The next market Spitzer highlighted is Mexico. RAW returns to Mexico City next Monday, September 14, with Roman Reigns defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Penta.
WWE has also confirmed a new weekend of events in Perth, Australia. Wrestlepalooza: Perth is set for December 12 at RAC Arena, between SmackDown and RAW episodes in the same city.
Netflix’s own numbers help explain the optimism. In 2025, subscribers watched 525 million hours of WWE content, and RAW appeared in the global English-language Top 10 in 47 of 52 weeks, averaging more than 3 million views per episode. The show also reached the Top 10 in 34 non-English-language countries.
Spitzer also said Netflix is in constant talks with WWE talent about possible roles in its sports broadcasts, films and series. Seth Rollins, who appeared on Netflix’s NFL coverage, is one of the names the company hopes to use again.
The WWE-Netflix partnership officially began in January 2025. The initial deal runs ten years and was valued by TKO at $5.2 billion.