Foxtel Group inks deal with WWE
Foxtel’s 4.5 million subscribers will have access to WWE’s live events – previously only available via pay-per-view – in multi-year deal with US professional wrestling powerhouse.
The Foxtel Group has further expanded its entertainment portfolio, signing a multi-year deal with American professional wrestling franchise WWE.
As part of the exclusive partnership, Foxtel will launch a stand-alone 24/7 WWE channel in December which will include all the entertainment brand’s premium live content, including marquee events Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 39.
Professional wrestling, which first boomed in the 1980s with the emergence of the likes of Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant and Randy Savage, has enjoyed a worldwide resurgence in recent years with a new generation of stars such as Roman Reigns and The Usos taking centre stage.
Under the terms of the broadcast deal, the Foxtel Group’s 4.5 million subscribers will have access to WWE’s live events — which were previously only available via pay-per-view — on its stand-alone WWE channel, as well as Fox8.
"Double Spear!!!" #Goldberg25@Goldberg@WWERomanReignspic.twitter.com/ZRkfb1Sp2k
— WWE (@WWE) September 25, 2022
Popular WWE programs including Raw, SmackDown and NXT will also be featured.
From January 2023, WWE will also be available on Foxtel’s entertainment streaming platform, BINGE.
Foxtel Group chief content and commercial officer, Amanda Laing, said: “The reach of the Foxtel Group is a game-changer for our partners such as WWE.
“It’s why sport and entertainment partners in Australia and around the globe, including major Hollywood studios and world-leading sports and now WWE, continue to choose the Foxtel Group to showcase their content and build their audience reach in Australia.”
BINGE executive director, Alison Hurbert-Burns, said: “We can’t wait to bring WWE’s unpredictable drama, larger-than-life personalities from past and present including Roman Reigns, Rey Mysterio, Ronda Rousey, John Cena and The Undertaker, along
with all the world-class WWE action to passionate Australian fans.”
News Corp (publisher of The Australian) owns 65 per cent of Foxtel.
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