When “WWE Raw” first began streaming on Netflix at the start of this year, international fans were treated to advertisement breaks being absent during the show, while viewers in the United States still had to sit through commercials. Earlier this year, WWE Vice President and Line Producer Brian Fadem told the Sports Business Journal that interruptions would be nonexistent for the company’s international audience, and for several months fans would get access to exclusive interviews or the continuation of a match instead of ad breaks. However, over the last few weeks, many international markets have seen a change in WWE’s programming for the red brand on Netflix, with commercials beginning to run throughout the show. 

According to BodySlam+, multiple of their sources have indicated that Netflix has slowly began to insert ad breaks for international fans watching all of WWE’s programming. Therefore, along with there being commercials during “Raw” for global audiences moving forward, other weekly programs like “WWE NXT” and “WWE SmackDown” will also be affected, with both shows streaming on Netflix internationally, unlike in the U.S where both shows still broadcast on cable television.

Last year, it was reported that Netflix decided to run commercials during “Raw” in the U.S because the company wanted to test ad breaks for both its live and pre-recorded programming, and felt that WWE’s flagship show on Mondays was a good place to start. Now that it’s nearly been a full year of Netflix integrating commercials for WWE’s U.S audience, the streaming platform will seemingly capitalize on its strategy on the international level in the foreseeable future.