WWE fans who have been hoping for a return to a two-hour Raw format will get their wish on October 7th. However, this isn’t a permanent change.
Raw is currently in a transition period between the USA Network and Netflix, as the Netflix agreement does not begin until January. Because of the gap, WWE reached an agreement with USA to keep Raw on the channel. The original deal was set to expire this month.
As previously reported by Dave Meltzer, the USA Network made the decision to switch to a two-hour format. Raw will return as a three-hour show on Netflix.
According to PWInsider.com, they have yet to confirm whether Raw will return to three hours when the Netflix deal goes into effect. While WWE may be required to extend a show beyond two hours, they may be able to control how long it lasts.
According to the report, “Some in the company have played coy when asked while others have suggested that they will have the ability to be flexible with the length of the show depending on what is needed that specific week once they move to streaming.”
WWE Raw is coming to Netflix on January 5th.