US online streaming service Hulu Plus has agreed an exclusive multi-year deal with the WWE wrestling organisation to stream all its television shows and some of its online series.
The Variety magazine reports that the WWE partnership is one of Hulu’s biggest content deals to date. Subscribers of Hulu’s paid-for service will gain next-day access to current episodes of the Monday Night Raw, SmackDown, WWE Superstars and WWE NXT programmes, as well as upcoming episodes of WWE Main Event.
Hulu Plus subscribers can also utilise Hulu Latino to watch WWE’s digital show, WWE En Español, the Spanish-language magazine programme that recaps WWE’s most exciting moments each week.
“As a clear leader in digital content delivery, Hulu is an ideal partner for WWE,” WWE chairman Vince McMahon said. “Hulu delivers more ways for our fans to experience WWE programming than ever before.”
WWE is expected to collect a percentage of advertising and subscription fees linked to the popularity of the shows.
“We’re a content creator and what we need to do is figure out where our fans are going to view content and monetise it,” Michelle Wilson, WWE’s chief marketing officer, added. “That’s been our marching order for the past three years.”