As WWE prepares to transition RAW to Netflix in the US and the WWE Network for viewers outside the US, fans can expect changes to the broadcast schedule.
A number of WWE’s international television deals will expire this year, with Netflix acquiring the rights to all WWE content in several international regions.
However, since the Netflix deal is set to commence on January 6, fans in the UK, Canada, and other regions will need to access the January 3rd episode of SmackDown via YouTube.
On the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer discussed WWE’s decision to broadcast the January 3rd show on YouTube.
Meltzer said, “So it’s one of those weird things, the way the contracts end and start. There’s a gap, which is actually only one show, but most of you know, Canada, UK, most of the world, the exceptions would be like the US. Germany is an exception, Philippines is an exception. But almost everywhere, the contracts, you know, the television deals, end at the end of this year. Netflix picks up on January 6. So there’s a January 3 Smackdown show that is everywhere but the United States, pretty much. And like I said, United States and Germany and Philippines, and just about anywhere, there may be one or two other countries too, but it just kind of falls in the cracks. So, in all those countries, WWE will be putting the smackdown show up on YouTube that week. So, that’s basically the situation there. Netflix will start with the Raw on the sixth, NXT on the seventh, and SmackDown on the 10th, outside the United States in pretty much all over the world. So that’s the situation that, you know, that date just kind of fell through in the middle. So there’s that.”
