Some Speculation On Broadcast Rights Negotiations Sees WWE Raw Leaving Cable

After securing new TV rights deals for both "NXT" and "SmackDown" during the latter half of 2023, WWE has now put its focus on securing a new deal for "Raw." And while a lot of speculation suggested that "Raw" could find a home on a station owned by Warner Brothers Discovery, potentially complicating WBD's existing relationship with AEW, a new prediction suggests another destination for "Raw," one that would see the red brand leave cable television altogether.

While looking over the sports TV landscape for 2024, Sports Business Journal predicted that "Raw's" new home will be none other than the streaming platform Amazon Prime Video. The reasons given were "Raw's" strong numbers with young males, a demo Amazon is looking to grow in, and the opportunity for the streaming service to obtain more live content to go along with Thursday Night Football. It was also predicted that "Raw" would remain on Monday nights should Amazon secure the show.

Amazon has often been reported as in play for "Raw's" rights, though it has frequently been seen behind cable channel FX, long considered the favorite to land "Raw," or WBD. A scenario where "Raw" lands on FX as part of a package deal involving Disney and TKO Group is believed to be in play and would be related to ESPN renewing its current deal with UFC. However, it's thought said scenario would only become viable if "Raw" was unable to find the right money value in a new deal.

For now, "Raw" will continue to air on USA, as it did last night, with the episode featuring a confrontation between Drew McIntyre and CM Punk, and Cody Rhodes defeating Shinsuke Nakamura in a street fight.