WWE Raw’s home in 2024 and beyond is still to be determined.
The past few months have been very important for the state of weekly programming for the foreseeable future, as all 3 weekly TV shows reach the end of their current broadcast deals by the end of next year. Two out of three shows have confirmed network deals until 2029, with WWE SmackDown set to air on the USA Network and WWE NXT set to broadcast on The CW network. In regards to the longest-running show produced by the company, a deal is still not finalised.
With the promotion experiencing an increase in popularity in terms of Premium Live Event attendance and viewership, it is hoped that this will be reflected in the negotiations.
In an update by Dave Meltzer, analysts are expecting the next deal to be worth approximately $387 million per year, which would be significantly up from the last deal but crucially is lower than was first predicted:
Stock analysts are predicting the WWE Raw rights going for about $387 million per year, up from the last deal at $265 million. That would be less than the $398 million that the stock price was originally based on, but it would still make the company far more profitable.
Assuming that the agreed broadcast deal for the Monday night show is 5 years, as has been the case with the majority of recent network deals with the company, the deal would be valued at $1.975 billion. For comparison, WWE’s recent network deal with SmackDown was valued at approximately $1.4 billion.
WWE Hopes For Ratings Boost With Recent Return
Although the Monday night show has been the company flagship and the longest-running episodic show in history, ratings take a significant dip for 6 months of the year. Going head to head with Monday Night Football, the NFL is substantially the bigger draw and is frequently reflected in the ratings. Whereas episodes broadcast during the NFL offseason obtain an average viewership of around 1.8 to 2 million viewers, the show averages around 1.4 to 1.6 million during regular season games.
At Survivor Series, CM Punk made a shock return to WWE, appearing live for the company for the first time in nearly a decade. Following the surprise appearance, Punk has been announced for the next episode of the red brand on November 27th, likely to address why he has returned and what his intentions are. Punk’s new employers will be hoping that the interest and online buzz regarding the return will reflect in the ratings as the negotiations continue.