WWE Raw, NXT, and SmackDown programming rights will expire next year. However, the company has been able to secure deals for two out of the three shows.
The deals
Raw and NXT have deals with the USA Network, while SmackDown airs on FOX through the fall of 2024. WWE will be leaving FOX and has signed a five-year agreement to bring SmackDown back to the USA Network. NXT is headed to the CW Network.
This move for all of the shows will take effect in October 2024. SmackDown’s deal will keep the blue brand on the network until 2029. Raw is expected to leave USA, which comes down to the network paying so much for SmackDown’s rights. However, considering the long-standing relationship between the two companies, that doesn’t completely rule them out if they can get a deal they like.
The pitch
Triple H and WWE President Nick Khan had meetings in Los Angeles, California, this week regarding Raw’s media rights, which is why Triple H missed Raw on Monday night.
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that WWE hopes to get $400 million annually. However, analysts believe it’ll be closer to $387 million annually.
Meltzer wrote, “For most of the negotiation period, the idea was FX as the leader, with Netflix, USA, WBD and Amazon Prime all being talked about.”
For Warner Bros. Discovery, which currently airs AEW programming, securing Raw’s rights would be a game changer, considering AEW also needs to get a new TV deal done next year.
Meltzer wrote, “The WBD version told to many this past week is that Nick Khan last went to WBD in October with a pitch and was turned down.”
Those in WBD have said privately that there’s nothing to the idea of TBS or TNT being the destination for Raw to a number of people in recent days, while those in WWE constantly had WBD as a longshot. The reason for that is due to the belief that WBD has an ownership stake in AEW.
