WWE and Discovery announced a new multi-year agreement that will make RAW and SmackDown available exclusively live and on-demand in Italy.
Beginning Wednesday, July 1, the new agreement will see WWE flagship programming with original U.S. commentary on DPlay PLUS, the OTT premium pay service of Discovery, along with versions featuring Italian commentary on DMAX (Channel 52). NXT will be available on-demand via Dplay PLUS every Thursday morning.
Fans can also watch WWE programming with Italian commentary by Luca Franchini and Michele Posa on Discovery’s free-to-air channel, DMAX. A two-hour version of Raw will premiere July 13 at 11:15 pm and re-run at 10:30 am on Saturdays; SmackDown will air at 11:15 pm on Tuesdays and re-run at 10:30 am on Sundays; NXT will air at 12:30 pm on Saturdays and re-run at 9:30 am on Sundays.
“We are thrilled to embark on a new chapter for WWE in Italy as we bring our unique blend of action-packed, family-friendly sports entertainment to Discovery’s free-to-air and premium channels,” said Stefan Kastenmüller, WWE Senior Vice President & Group General Manager. “We are excited that our relationship with Discovery is enhancing the fan experience in Italy with both primetime and family-friendly timeslots.”
“We are pleased to announce this agreement with WWE, which is of strategic importance for our group, and will allow us to offer our audience a unique and innovative content proposition: premium content on Dplay PLUS at a very competitive price and WWE highlights on free-to-air on DMAX,” said Alessandro Araimo, Managing Director Discovery Italy. “WWE has conquered a very wide audience and we are confident that our channels and platforms can help to further expand the very large Italian fanbase.”
WWE’s two popular weekly recap series, Bottom Line and Afterburn, will be available with original commentary from Dplay PLUS. The agreement with WWE will make the Dplay PLUS premium content offer even more exclusive with the platform subscription price unchanged at 3.99 euros per month, and at the same time, enriching the free-to-air offer of DMAX, which is already the home of rugby and esports.
WWE’s monthly pay-per-view events, including WrestleMania® and SummerSlam®, will stream exclusively on WWE Network in Italy.
About Discovery Italy
Discovery Italy is the leading broadcaster in real-life entertainment with a multiplatform portfolio of 13 channels and the OTT services Dplay, Eurosport Player and GOLFTV. Our 9 free-to-air channels (NOVE, Real Time, DMAX, Giallo, MOTOR TREND, Food Network, HGTV – Home & Garden TV, K2 and Frisbee) and four pay channels (Discovery Channel, Discovery Science, Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2 available on Sky) reach an overall share of 7%. From January 2017 Eurosport is officially the Home of the Olympics in Europe. In Italy, Discovery has consolidated its position thanks to ability to create a unique and integrated ecosystem, with multiplatform brands that represent a destination for a dynamic audience, for talents and for partners looking for a relevant and innovative media stakeholder.
