Summary
- Netflix’s debut episode of WWE Raw attracted 4.9 million viewers globally.
- The platform recently hosted Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson and NFL Christmas Day, both record-breaking events for the streaming giant.
- Netflix’s expansion into live events includes more upcoming weekly WWE shows, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031.
Netflix’s efforts to stream more live sporting events on its platform appear to be paying off.
The streaming giant’s debut episode of WWE Raw started strong, attracting more than 4.9 million viewers worldwide. According to VideoAMP, 2.6 million households in the US tuned into the event. That’s 116 percent higher than the 1.2 million US households who tuned into Raw on linear TV in 2024, and the highest of any WWE Raw broadcast in the past five years.
The debut episode of Raw wasn’t just attracting attention on Netflix either. On X, when the episode debuted, #WWERaw was the number one trending topic in the US, Brazil, Australia, and the UK. All this is good news for Netflix, who agreed to a $5 billion deal to stream WWE’s flagship Raw program for the next decade.
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Last year, Netflix made its first significant foray into live sporting events by hosting the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul boxing match. While the fight attracted record viewership numbers, it was also plagued by a myriad of technical issues, such as people’s stream constantly buffering or not loading at all. Luckily, with the debut episode of Raw, Netflix seems to have avoided any major technical issues.
Netflix also recently streamed the NFL Christmas Day game live on its platform, which attracted over 30 million global viewers, making it “Netflix’s most-watched Christmas Day ever in the US.” Netflix is working to expand its live sports offerings as well, recently signing a deal to stream the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031 exclusively on Netflix in the US.
In addition to upcoming weekly WWE live events, Netflix will be streaming the Screen Actors Guild Awards on February 23. Thus far, Netflix’s foray into live sporting events is working in its favor. Considering the platform has more than 282 million subscribers, that’s a large potential audience for any event.
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