WWE has expanded its international broadcast partnership with Netflix, which will now stream the company’s premium live events (PLEs) in Germany and Austria.
The agreement will see major WWE events such as WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Money in the Bank and Clash in Italy available on the streaming platform.
Content from the WWE Network will be migrated to Netflix starting April 1, with the partnership officially kicking off on April 18 with the 42nd edition of WrestleMania.
The events will also be available on demand with German-language commentary.
WWE Network to close after 12-year DTC experiment
With the new agreement in place, WWE will shut down the WWE Network in Germany and Austria, bringing an end to the company’s 12-year direct-to-consumer streaming experiment.
The WWE Network had previously been the platform carrying premium events in these markets, but the content will now move entirely to Netflix.
Existing WWE Network subscribers have already been informed that they will need to migrate to Netflix to continue accessing WWE’s premium content.
Weekly shows remain on linear broadcasters
Despite the expanded partnership, WWE’s weekly flagship programming will remain with existing broadcast partners.
Shows such as Raw, SmackDown and NXT will continue to air on BILD and ProSieben MAXX, while Netflix will focus solely on streaming the company’s premium live events.
Netflix deepens presence in sports broadcasting
The original Netflix–WWE partnership began in January 2024, when the streaming platform secured rights to broadcast Monday Night Raw in several major markets including the United States and the United Kingdom.
Netflix also became the international broadcaster for SmackDown and NXT outside WWE’s domestic market.
The expansion in Germany and Austria reflects Netflix’s growing involvement in live sports and sports entertainment over the past year.
One recent example was the platform’s NFL Christmas Day coverage, which delivered record audiences. The matchup between the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings averaged 27.5 million viewers in the United States, making it the most-streamed NFL game in US history.