WWE gains first live exposure in Korea, enters Mongolia

US wrestling organisation WWE has extended its broadcast rights deal with South Korean agency IB Sports, and secured its first partnership in Mongolia.

WWE and IB Sports will extend their partnership into its 13th year with a new agreement to broadcast programming live for the first time in South Korea.

Beginning January 2, IB Sports will televise WWE’s Raw series live at 10am local time every Tuesday and SmackDown live at 10am on Wednesdays, with additional airings of one-hour versions of the two programmes throughout the week.

Fans can also watch all of WWE’s monthly special events live on IB Sports, including WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series and Royal Rumble.

All programs will be available with Korean voiceover commentary and on IB Sports’ TV Everywhere platform for authenticated subscribers, and on its 14-day VOD catchup window. Additionally, IB Sports will broadcast previous seasons of Total Divas and WWE highlight shows AfterBurn and BottomLine.

Meanwhile, WWE and SPS HD, Mongolia’s leading sports broadcaster, have agreed a deal to broadcast Raw and SmackDown on SPS Sports for the first time in the country.

Beginning this week, SPS Sports will air a two-hour version of Raw on Saturdays at 11am local time and SmackDown at 11am on Sundays, both available in English with Mongolian subtitles.

Raw and SmackDown will also be available on SPS HD’s TV Everywhere platform for authenticated subscribers, and on its 14-day VOD catchup window.