Getty WWE wrestler Braun Strowman at the 2023 Save Mart 350
Did NASCAR sign its big new media deal too soon?
In November 2023, NASCAR finalized a seven-year, $7.7 billion media deal with Fox, NBC, Amazon Prime, and TNT Sports. The deal, which includes all NASCAR Cup Series races plus practices and qualifying, is set to run from 2025 through 2031, and works out to $1.1 billion per year.
By contrast, Netflix just announced a major media deal with WWE. Netflix will stream the popular WWE Raw series, long broadcast on Fox.
The price tag: Just over $5 billion.
Netflix becomes the exclusive home of WWE Raw for the next ten years, starting January 2025. Netflix will also get the rights to WWE SmackDown, NXT, and several live events, including WrestleMania, as part of this deal — but only outside the US.
WWE Raw is the No. 1 show on cable’s USA Network, with 17.5 million unique annual viewers. WWE Raw is also one of television’s top-performing shows with the coveted 18-49 demographic. Nonetheless, $5 billion for WWE Raw is sure to get NASCAR’s attention. The streaming giant is clearly ready to spend big money on sports content.
Sports on Cable TV Are Under Threat
The pot continues to grow. Just a few years ago, streaming services were considered supplemental to cable television. Now, they are ascendant. Netflix has a bigger market cap than cable giant, Comcast. Plus, Netflix is growing rapidly. The company added 13.1 million new subscribers last quarter and has just over 260 million paid subscribers. Huge numbers –the kind that attracts every sports league and franchise.
Competing streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime (NFL), Peacock (NCAA Football), and Apple TV (MLS), all have live sports content. Netflix is eager to add sports to it’s content line-up.
Although, WWE Raw is not technically sport. Rather, it’s “sports entertainment.”
But, the focus on live sports programming to support subscriber growth is clear. In its recent earnings call, Netflix stated that it’s not interested in acquiring linear assets, such as Max or Starz.
“Nor do we believe that further M&A among traditional entertainment companies will materially change the competitive environment given all the consolidation that has already happened over the last decade.”
Instead, the company suggested that it will look to creating new content – both recorded and live events. The WWE Raw deal is just the start. More live sports and sports-related content are core to Netflix’s growth plans.
Netflix & NASCAR Are Already Working Together
WWE Raw has aired on traditional cable television for 31 years. Starting next January, it will find a home on Netflix. The entire sports media landscape is changing.
Despite a mini-public backlash over streaming service Peacock having the exclusive rights to an NFL Wild Card playoff game — featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins — the game proved the most watched live-streamed event ever in the United States. Fears of losing fans by jumping to streaming platforms may prove unfounded.
According to a Sports Business Journal report, the $1.1 billion per year NASCAR will get with its new media deal is a 40% increase over its current deal. At its signing, NASCAR President Steve Phelps stated that “(this new deal) signifies to the sports world, to the sponsors, to everyone, that NASCAR is clearly a Tier 1 property and a must-have property.”
Still, it’s hard not to think NASCAR may have left money on the table. That said, there are other paths for NASCAR to garner more streaming dollars.
NASCAR has already begun teaming up with Netflix. The new docuseries NASCAR Full Speed premieres on Netflix next week. According to NASCAR, “the docuseries delves into the heart of the action as postseason drama unfolds both on and off the track, capturing the intensity of the NASCAR Playoffs.” Expect more of this.
What drives a NASCAR champion? Go behind the wheel and beyond the track in NASCAR: Full Speed. Coming January 30th.
Fans want insider access to drivers, teams, and even to what’s happening on the technical and business sides during the off-season. Big streaming platforms are eager to grow their subscription base — and lock in subscribers.
Providing fans with access to their favorite sport is, at the moment, one of the best ways of achieving this goal. But this doesn’t have to mean every race or every Championship battle, for example, goes to streaming platforms.
As the WWE Raw and NFL Wild Card playoff deals reveal, there are numerous ways to parse out access and create new content. Old races, driver-led content, and more, are just some possibilities.