In an upcoming shift in the entertainment domain, WWE RAW is poised to move to Netflix beginning in January 2025. This move was discussed recently by Mark Shapiro in the context of TKO’s crucial role in pitching the WWE to Netflix. Emphasizing on WWE as “scripted entertainment”, TKO’s President and COO shared an insight into the thought process that led Netflix to consider a partnership for the TV rights.
During his participation in “Leaders Week London”, Shapiro spoke about how he convinced Netflix to compete for the TV rights by referring to the WWE as not strictly live sports but a form of narrative enjoyment with episodes that are serial in nature.
He shed light on the healthy track record WWE has with its existing audience, with a consistently weekly telecast that fuels viewer retention apart from boosting acquisition. This consistency, according to him, has a markable role in reducing churn within the WWE’s universe of fans.
Moving onto the former WWE ‘Tough Enough’ winner Maven, he acknowledged turning down an invite to partake in a class action lawsuit against WWE in 2016. A video uploaded on his YouTube channel provides Maven’s reasons for not joining a lawsuit asserting that WWE failed in safeguarding the health of performers concerning concussions and other head-related traumas. It’s worth noting that the lawsuit was eventually dismissed in 2020.
Maven shed some light on making this decision in the video. While addressing the speculation of being part of the lawsuit, he commented on his mindset during the time when he was starting a new career post-WWE. Having finally gotten past his bitterness towards the industry, he was trying to rebuild his life by pursuing a corporate sales job at Verizon when the lawsuit invitation arrived.
Maven shared a detailed process of deliberation in deciding whether or not to join the legal action. This included his perception of WWE becoming an easy target for lawsuits despite some of their contentious actions towards their performers. Maven ultimately opted out of the lawsuit, primarily due to concerns about his relationship with WWE and the time commitment involved in a legal process. He felt in order to be fair to his new employer and his emerging career, it would not be beneficial to get tied up in the lawsuit.
He also discussed the possible different mindset he might have had if the lawsuit was presented to him a few years earlier. Maven was aware that he might have viewed the lawsuit differently during the difficult times he was facing at that point. Towards the end, he pointed out that he does not hold any negative views towards those who decided to proceed with the lawsuit as everyone’s circumstances and issues are different. The complete conversation can be viewed on his YouTube channel.
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