Netflix has been flirting with live sports for some time now, and has now officially committed to making live sports a major part of its core service

In a deal announced today, TKO Group Holdings will provide its iconic show "WWE Raw" to the popular streaming service (h/t CNBC) The popular live wrestling show will air on Netflix for 10 years beginning in 2025, and the deal is worth $5 billion (with a "b" for billion!) ),

and that's not all Netflix will gain from this purely historic deal: Netflix will become the international home for other WWE wrestling shows, in addition to domestic streaming rights to "Raw" and broadcast rights in Canada, the UK, and Latin America In other words, Netflix will be the home of "SmackDown," "NXT," "WrestleMania," "SummerSlam," and "Royal Rumble" outside the United States

Clearly this is a big win for WWE, and WWE will now be one of the largest sports leagues (for lack of a better word) in the streaming world, and by partnering with Netflix, could arguably become the largest live sports property dedicated to streaming Other streaming services have signed on with leagues ranging from the NFL to the English Premier League, but none have the presence of Netflix

Also, this is a big win for Netflix and could be a crippling blow to its competitors

Again, live sports is nothing new to streaming, but most of the developments in the genre are recent: Max has the Bleacher Report add-on and Turner Sports, Paramount Plus Apple TV Plus and Prime Video offer MLB and MLS for Apple, and NFL and regional sports network Diamonds for Prime Videos NFL and regional sports network Diamond Sports Group have signed on to offer notable sports In short, Netflix is a relative latecomer to the game, despite its golf tournament, The Netflix Cup

But what about now, according to Netflix and TKO Group, 175 million unique viewers watch "Raw" annually Some of those viewers may already have Netflix accounts, but they could still be millions of new subscribers for Netflix

Of course, it is not only companies that should be considered here The viewers are also important On the one hand, this is a win for those who already have Netflix; they won't need the USA Network, let alone cable Well, if you only want to watch "Raw" and not the other WWE productions

However, those with access to Netflix's ad-supported tier will have a different experience than those paying for the premium tier According to sources, "Raw" will be scripted to satisfy ad-free customers, and they will see continuous action during commercial breaks These scenes would not be critical to the outcome, and would be something along the lines of "a wrestler in a sustained headlock" But that means not all consumers will get the same show, which is a big change for WWE and Netflix

Still, it is unlikely that Netflix will charge more for access to "Raw" Therefore, fans who already use Netflix are likely to be satisfied with this new partnership