- MultiChoice has confirmed that it will keep airing WWE programming on SuperSport in South Africa.
- Come 2025 WWE content will only be available on Netflix in the US, UK, Latin America, and many other regions.
- This comes after the signing of a $5 billion, 10-year deal between Netflix and WWE parent, TKO Group.
A week after the parent company of wrestling juggernaut WWE signed a landmark deal to bring its live shows to Netflix in 2025, MultiChoice has assuaged South Africans that the WWE’s content will remain on SuperSport.
This is despite the fact that the Netflix deal means the streaming leader will be the sole provider of WWE programming in the US, Canada, Britain, Latin America and many other regions across the globe.
“The MultiChoice Group confirms that WWE events, including RAW, Smackdown, NXT, Wrestlemania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble will continue being available on Your World of Champions, SuperSport,” the South African entertainment giant shared with Hypertext.
“SuperSport has held WWE broadcast rights for Sub-Saharan Africa since 2017, which we expanded in 2019, through our direct partnership with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). We’re pleased to continue entertaining our viewers with the best in international wrestling.”
MultiChoice also has rights to broadcast WWE archived content, documentaries and bespoke WWE programming, like Jambo WWE which offers an African perspective on the moment-to-moment events and storylines that the WWE features.
The group, however, did not share when the deal with WWE will expire. Netflix has purchased the rights to stream WWE programming live for the next 10 years after January 2025. It paid the TKO Group, the parent company of WWE and UFC $5 billion to secure the rights.
For Netflix, the sports entertainment leader brings appointment viewing for its weekly shows like RAW and SmackDown, and every month with its premium live events like the Royal Rumble which took place this past weekend.
It will also change the dynamic of cable TV in the US, as the WWE has been a mainstay for cable channels like the USA Network since its inception in the early 90s.
MultiChoice is smart to keep WWE programming on SuperSport, it’s one advantage over what Netflix can offer. The company recently teamed up with NBC Universal to relaunch its Showmax streaming service at the start of 2024.
The launch has seen an intense advertising campaign from MultiChoice and its partners, but we found the actual streaming platform itself a bit disappointing. Especially with the removal of live sports.
[Image – WWE]
