• The first WWE show on Netflix was a huge hit, drawing nearly 5 million global viewers.
• WWE wants its $5 billion deal with Netflix to allow it to extend its global footprint.
• Its next big event on the streaming giant will be the Royal Rumble in February.

January saw the first episode of WWE’s premier series Raw broadcast internationally simultaneously for the first time ever through Netflix. The first-ever episode is part of a 10-year $5 billion deal between the streaming giant and the professional wrestling money machine, and according to Netflix – it was a hit.

Unfortunately for fans in South Africa without DStv, they were not able to watch the WWE show on Monday as MultiChoice has conserved its local broadcasting rights and the local version of Netflix doesn’t carry WWE Raw or any other WWE programming.

Per Reuters, Netflix says that the debut of WWE Raw – one of its only weekly live shows – drew an average of 2.6 million viewers in the United States alone, nearly double the average weekly viewers it was drawing while on cable through the USA Network.

It is likely the most watched episode of WWE Raw since the late 90s when the company was at its height of global popularity during the “Attitude Era” led by stars like Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock.

The episode featuring CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins in the main event drew nearly 5 million viewers globally, according to The Wrap. While nowhere near the over 100 million people that tuned in to watch Mike Tyson sweatily bumble about a ring with Jake Paul, the views are a victory for the WWE as it marks a 116 percent increase over its previous average live US viewership.

WWE’s chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque has said that Netflix is the key to an even larger global footprint for the company.

“As you know, this is part of WWE’s global expansion, which we’ve been very focused on in the last year, and a lot of that has to do with our deal that we have with Netflix,” he said in a press conference late last year

“At that time, 80% of the globe will hit Netflix live with Raw, SmackDown, NXT, and all our PLEs. US will be slightly different, but that includes all of Canada, so when that date hits, you’re gonna get all WWE programming here. It’s a game-changer for WWE. We’re very excited about that.”

The next big test for WWE on Netflix will be on 1st February, where it will stream its Royal Rumble live event to the world on the platform. John Cena is expected to play a big part of the event.

Fans in South Africa will have to turn to VPNs to catch any WWE programming on Netflix.