WWE comes to Channel 5 in new UK television deal

Earlier this month WWE launched on BT Sport in the UK, taking over the exclusive live broadcasts of Raw, SmackDown and NXT, as well as NXT UK and WWE’s monthly pay-per-view events from Sky Sports, who held those rights for the last 30 years.

Today WWE announced a new partnership with ViacomCBS’s Channel 5 to broadcast highlights of its weekly programs Raw and SmackDown on free-to-air television in the UK.

Beginning February 2, Channel 5 will air a one-hour version of Raw on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and one-hour version of SmackDown on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. In addition, NXT UK will air on Paramount Network each Wednesday from 12am.

“Bringing highlights of our flagship programming to free-to-air television for the first time in the UK with Channel 5 is a significant step for the WWE brand, and more great news for our passionate fanbase in the UK,” said Andy Warkman, Vice President and General Manager, WWE UK & Ireland.

“WWE has strong appeal throughout the UK and across generations so we’re very excited to be bringing their high-quality entertainment to an even bigger free-to-air audience in the UK,” said James Tatam, VP Commercial, Digital and Operations, Channel 5.

As part of the agreement, content will be made available on Channel 5’s streaming service My5. In addition, full seasons of Total Divas and Miz & Mrs will be offered to My5 viewers, as well as on ViacomCBS-owned Pluto TV in the UK.