Netflix "Full Steam Ahead" With WWE Following Vince McMahon's Resignation
Netflix all in with WWE following Vince McMahon's exit
Jan 31, 2024
Had Janel Grant's lawsuit been filed one week earlier, WWE may have lost their TV deal with Netflix.
WWE announced last week that Monday Night Raw will air on Netflix from January 2025 in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, and other territories. SmackDown, NXT, and premium live events will air on the streaming platform as well outside of the United States and India from 2025 and the WWE Network is reportedly set to fold into Netflix, similar to the streaming service with Peacock in the US. The WWE-Netflix deal is worth $5 billion over 10 years, although Netflix can opt out after five years or extend the arrangement by an additional 10 years.
Following the announcement of the Netflix deal, WWE found themselves named as a defendant in the lawsuit filed by former WWE employee Janel Grant. Within the suit, Grant accused Vince McMahon of sex trafficking, sexual assault, and physical and emotional abuse. John Laurinaitis was also accused of sexual assault, while WWE were accused of trying to cover up the allegations against McMahon.
Vince McMahon has since announced his resignation as TKO Executive Chairman, ending his day-to-day involvement in WWE, although he is still a major shareholder in TKO. McMahon's resignation came after major partners like Slim Jim began to suspend their sponsorships with WWE.
Speaking on The Town, Matthew Belloni has reported that the lawsuit would have affected the WWE-Netflix deal had it been filed before the new partnership was announced. Netflix are now "full steam ahead" with WWE, though, following Vince McMahon's resignation from TKO.
"If the lawsuit against (Vince) McMahon and him stepping down and all of that, (had) the allegations against him come out even a week ago, I think it would have been a problem for this Netflix deal. But, from my understanding, Netflix has communicated to WWE that Vince is out, now they're going full steam ahead on this," Belloni said.
