By Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX)'s next venture into live programming starts Monday when the company streams its first episode of "Raw," the weekly World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE:TKO) spectacle that has been a staple of U.S. television for three decades.
WWE executives are moving their flagship show from Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA)'s USA Network to the new streaming home with hopes that they can bring in more fans of all ages around the world.
"When you look at Netflix and its global reach and the power of its brand, it was time that our brand met up with theirs," said WWE President Nick Khan.
Netflix agreed to pay more than $5 billion for rights to show "Raw" and other WWE programming including "Smackdown" and "Wrestlemania" over 10 years, part of the streaming service's move into live events that are attractive to advertisers.
WWE rose to popularity with colorful characters such as Hulk Hogan and future movie star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in ongoing storylines that hooked viewers.
One fan was Bela Bejaria, now the chief content officer at Netflix. She recalled watching outsized personalities such as Hogan, Randy Savage and Andre the Giant with her grandfather after her family moved to Los Angeles when she was nine.
"It turns out that my experience of watching wrestling with my family isn't that unusual," Bejaria said. "They have a huge multi-generational fan base with a roster of stars and exciting drama."
Today, the WWE has more than 1 billion followers across social media, Bejaria said. "Combining the intensity of WWE fans with the fandom and reach of Netflix just made sense," she said.
"Raw" will stream live every Monday exclusively on Netflix in the United States, Canada, Latin America and other territories. It will arrive on Netflix in some countries later this year, including India in April.
In 2025, WWE will stage more "Raw" and "Smackdown" events in international markets and aims to find superstars around the world.
"We can't just be an American company, piping out American content, hoping that people will show up and tune in," Khan said. "We have to be boots on the ground."
Monday's "Raw" will stream live from outside Los Angeles with appearances from wrestler and actor John Cena, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes and others.
The show will air 52 weeks per year, a significant jump from Netflix's handful of live events to date.
In November, Netflix reported 65 million concurrent streams for a boxing match between 58-year-old Mike Tyson and 27-year-old YouTube personality Jake Paul. Some users reported buffering issues during the fight.
Netflix attributed the glitches to the large number of viewers and said it had since shored up its technology. On Christmas Day, Netflix's streams of two National Football League games went smoothly and drew more than 30 million viewers each.
Paul Levesque, WWE's chief content officer, said he is not worried about the possibility of a few hiccups when "Raw" debuts.
"If it blinks a couple of times and we do 60 million, I’m good with that," Levesque joked.