WWE Announces New Deal For RAW and Smackdown To Air In Japan

WWE has announced a new deal to bring RAW, Smackdown and WWE PPVs to Japan through the ad supported service ABEMA. The streaming service will see WWE air for free in the country for the first time ever. It will have Japanese commentary. The shows will be available within twelve hours of airing in the US.

RAW will debut on October 3 and air Tuesdays at 8 PM local time. Smackdown will air Saturdays at 8 PM. Shows will also be available on demand. A WWE special, Emergency RAW Special Program will air tomorrow at 9 PM, featuring The Great Muta and more.

ABEMA TO BECOME HOME OF WWE® IN JAPAN

Raw® And SmackDown® Will Be Broadcast Free-To-Air with Japanese Commentary for First Time

Premium Live Events Including WrestleMania®, SummerSlam® And Fastlane® To Broadcast Live In Japan

STAMFORD, Conn., September 28, 2023 – WWE®, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), and ABEMA have agreed to a new media rights partnership in Japan that will see WWE’s flagship programming broadcast exclusively on ABEMA platforms in Japan beginning October 2023.

Raw and SmackDown will both broadcast free-to-air in Japan every week with Japanese commentary immediately following first broadcast in the U.S., for the first time ever. Starting with Raw on Tuesday, October 3 (and every Tuesday night at 8pm local time) and SmackDown on Saturday, October 7 (and every Saturday night at 8pm local time), both weekly shows will also be available to watch on-demand. The new agreement will also see NXT® available to watch on-demand in Japan via ABEMA Video.

Additionally, all WWE Premium Live Events will air exclusively live on ABEMA, with all past editions of WrestleMania® available to view on-demand via ABEMA Video beginning October 1.