Netflix is per sources highly pleased with the results of its partnership with WWE, with one of the streaming giant’s top executives revealing that the relationship has met every metric the company hoped to achieve in the United States.
Gabe Spitzer, Netflix’s Vice President of Global Live Sports and Entertainment, discussed WWE during an appearance on the Sports Media with Richard Deitsch podcast. Spitzer described WWE as Netflix’s initial major live sports entertainment deal. Praised several of the company’s key executives — including Paul “Triple H” Levesque, Lee Fitting and Nick Khan.
“We’re now in—you’re almost like almost two years in, still a little over a year and a half—and obviously, this was our initial notable live, I’d call live sports entertainment deal. Equally important, i’ve been a fan for a long time and excellent partners over there with people like Paul Levesque [Triple H] and Lee Fitting and Nick Khan. They’ve been great partners, and I think we’re thrilled with the results so far. Meanwhile, we knew in the U.S., you know, something like RAW, having that every week, there’s going to be that passionate, loyal fan base. They are going to event up, and they have come, in likely ways over to Netflix and predictable way. It’s hit, you know, every metric that we’ve hoped for on the U.S. side. Adding to the story, i think the place where we’ve been surprised in a good way, and that will continue to grow, is outside of the U.S. And that’s really where we see the potential to continue to grow. This partnership is in the U.S. We have RAW only outside of the U.S.
and, 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, you know — premium live events every month, be it The Grandest Stage of Them All, Royal Rumble or SummerSlam. And 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, shortly after. So they’re working with us and they’re saying, ‘Hey, like, what are the countries you want to continue to grow? Adding to the story, 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 weeks for a big RAW that we’re really excited about. So that’s been the cool evolution of the partnership. It’s beyond just those predictable, loyal, passionate viewers—and there are a wealth of them—to see how we can potentially bring new supporters in around the world, too.”
While Spitzer said WWE’s performance in the United States has been in line with Netflix’s expectations, he identified international growth as the particularly encouraging aspect of the partnership.
Outside the United States, Netflix carries WWE’s broader programming lineup in most markets, including Raw, SmackDown, NXT and premium live events. Spitzer indicated that WWE and Netflix are in addition working together strategically when determining which international markets could benefit from hosting major events.
With WWE continuing to expand its international schedule, Netflix sees further opportunities to use live events in markets around the world to attract viewers beyond the company’s established fan base.