WWE To Launch Drive To Survive-Style Reality Series

A new WWE documentary-style show is coming soon.

Over the last decade since the launching of WWE Network, which moved to Peacock in the US, there have been many different types of documentaries that showed the behind-the-scenes life of World Wrestling Entertainment.

There were many documentaries showing fans what it was like at WrestleMania events as well as other major shows. They have also partnered with networks like A&E and Peacock to produce documentary series about different subjects.

Starting in January 2025, the WWE Raw brand will move to Netflix for a five-year deal that could turn into ten years. In addition to that, Netflix will have international rights for all WWE shows in Canada, the United Kingdom, and other markets.

World Wrestling Entertainment is owned by Endeavor, which formed the TKO Group that pairs WWE along with the UFC under the same umbrella. Mark Shapiro is TKO’s Chief Operating Officer, who spoke at the JPMorgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference.

According to Shapiro, as part of WWE’s deal with Netflix, they will also do “a lot of ancillary shoulder programming” starting next year. As part of the shoulder programming mentioned, there is expected to be a series similar to the popular F1 Racing series called “Drive to Survive” as well as documentaries about World Wrestling Entertainment stars.

The popular series “Drive To Series” was launched in 2019 and led to a boost in F1 as a business. It led to a huge increase in television money for the company since they signed a deal with ESPN in June 2022 for $90 million annually, which was a massive increase over the $5 million per year they were getting before that.

In addition to the F1 series, Netflix also produces plenty of other sports content and is known for producing some terrific documentaries.

WWE Planning To Extend Relationship With Saudi Arabia

During the same conference, Shapiro also made it clear that WWE plans to extend the original ten-year deal they had to produce shows in Saudi Arabia. The next WWE shows in Saudi Arabia will be this Friday’s May 24th edition of Smackdown along with the King and Queen of the Ring PLE on May 25th as well.

Thanks to F4Wonline for some of the notes above.