Netflix and WWE deal looks like a win for both corners

• WWE’s Monday Night Raw debuted on Netflix on January 6th.
• WWE fans have been flocking to Netflix in the months leading up to the premier.
• Netflix subscribers have worse impressions about the WWE than other Americans.
• Nonetheless, Netflix viewership of the WWE has increased sharply (7%-10%) since Raw premiered on the service.

WWE’s Monday Night Raw arrived on Netflix on January 6, a year after announcing the exclusive deal. Through this deal, Netflix hopes to pin down America’s massive wrestling fandom, which includes 22% of all consumers. In the opposite corner, the WWE is trying to get a hold on a potentially slippery Netflix audience. After four weeks of Raw on Netflix, there are signs that both sides will get what they’re after.

Netflix has WWE fans in a chokehold 

WWE fans are generally open to paying for Netflix, but since the Raw deal, they’ve become downright enthusiastic. The day the deal was announced, 49% of WWE fans said they would consider purchasing Netflix next time they were in the market for such a service. This compares to 38% of the general population. After a year of hype and four installments of Raw on Netflix, that metric has risen to 65%. While Netflix has had a good year in general, the growth in Consideration among wrestling fans outpaced growth in the general population, where it rose from 38% to 44%.

The above numbers include consumers who already have Netflix and would consider renewing when next in the market. Our data indicates that Netflix is also likely to win new subscribers among WWE fans. Among WWE fans who do not currently subscribe to Netflix, Consideration rose from 30% to 41% in the same period.

Winning over this audience wasn’t automatic. Consideration for Netflix has mirrored Advertising Awareness over the past year, suggesting that campaigns advertising the WWE’s move to streaming helped to boost Consideration.

Are Netflix fans ready to rumble? 

It seems like Netflix is winning new fans among wrestling enthusiasts, but what about the other way around? While America’s Netflix audience is large, there are some signs that they may be tough to pin down. As a group, Netflix viewers have more negative feelings about the WWE than the general population and have been hearing worse things about the organization.

The below chart shows Buzz and Impression for the WWE among the general population and among Netflix subscribers. Impression is a net metric of those who have a positive impression of a brand minus those who have a negative impression, and Buzz is a net metric of what Americans have been hearing about a brand.

Among all Americans, impression for WWE has sat around negative five throughout January. Among the subset of Netflix subscribers, it’s significantly worse. On the day that WWE Raw premiered on Netflix, it was -12. In a mere four episodes, it has fallen to -19. Buzz for WWE has moved in the same direction, though not so dramatically.

WWE finds new viewers among skeptical Netflix subscribers

While Impression and Buzz are important metrics, they’re not always a predictor of viewership. WWE executives know as well as anyone that a good heel can make great viewing. In this case,

our data shows promising results for the WWE. The below chart shows how many Netflix customers have watched any program that’s part of the WWE in the past year compared to how many in the general population have watched it.

On the day Raw premiered, only 7% of Netflix subscribers had watched the WWE in the preceding 12 months, much less than the 11% who had in the general population. Since Raw’s debut on Netflix, that viewership total rose to 10%, nearly equalling the numbers in the general population. Whatever Netflix viewers are saying about the WWE, more of them are tuning in to watch.

This may be the big benefit offered by Netflix. Even a sceptical audience may click a Netflix tile, giving the WWE a chance to win them over. The next year will show whether Netflix viewers flock to WWE Raw or whether the current lift is merely a result of the hype surrounding the premiere.

Methodology: YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. Scores are based on an average daily sample sizes of 230-7600 US adults between January 23, 2024 and January 30, 2025. Figures are based on an 8- or 4-week moving average. Learn more about BrandIndex.