Netflix paying $5 billion for WWE Raw / Colin Firth to lead Peacock's Lockerbie / Late-night bids farewell to Ron DeSantis
PLUS: CBS: More than 50 million watched Kansas City Chiefs-Buffalo Bills, making it the highest-rated NFL divisional playoff game ever.
Netflix paying $5 billion for WWE Raw in its biggest move yet into livestreaming
Starting in January 2025, WWE Raw will move from USA Network to Netflix as part of a 10-year $5 billion deal. "Securing rights to the popular weekly show is a sign of Netflix’s ambition of being a must-have home-entertainment subscription with a vast library of TV shows and films as well as live content," says The Wall Street Journal's Joe Flint. "The long-term deal is the streamer’s largest to date for live sports-entertainment rights and continues a migration of athletic events that once aired exclusively on cable and broadcast television to streaming platforms." The deal also gives Netflix international streaming rights to shows such as Smackdown and NXT. Flint adds: "The agreement with Netflix is valued at more than $5 billion with an option for the streamer to extend the pact for an additional 10 years or opt out after the initial five years, according to a regulatory filing from TKO. NBCUniversal’s USA Network is the current rightsholder for Raw with a five-year deal valued at more than $1.3 billion. The NBCUniversal agreement didn’t include international rights." As The Hollywood Reporter's Alex Weprin notes, "WWE Raw is a big step in the direction of live sports, with recurring rights fees similar to that of other major leagues. Netflix, like Apple, has sought global rights for sports in the discussions it has held with partners. While the WWE is not entirely exclusive, it will give the streaming giant near-global scale for WWE content, and total global rights to Raw over time."
Dwayne Johnson to be granted the full trademark for "The Rock" as he joins WWE's board of directors
Johnson is the newest member of the board of TKO, the company that now owns WWE and UFC. TMZ reports that Johnson's perks for joining the board including "being granted the full trademark to 'The Rock' ... which he has pretty much gone by his entire career, dating back to when he was in the ring."
Colin Firth to lead Peacock's Lockerbie bombing limited series
The Oscar-winning actor will portray Dr. Jim Swire, who lost his daughter Flora in the December 1988 Pan Am transatlantic Flight 103 that was destroyed by a terrorist bomb over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 243 passengers, 16 crew members and 11 people on the ground. Lockerbie is a joint production of Peacock and Sky. “In the wake of the disaster and his daughter Flora’s death, Dr. Jim Swire (Firth), is nominated spokesperson for the U.K. victims’ families, who have united to demand truth and justice,” according to Lockerbie’s official description. “Traveling across continents and political divides, Jim embarks on a relentless journey that not only jeopardizes his stability, family and life, but completely overturns his trust in the justice system. As the truth shifts under Jim’s feet, his view of the world is left forever sullied.”
Late-night bids farewell to Ron DeSantis
“I don’t understand why Americans didn’t rally behind a guy who declared war on the Magic Kingdom, attacked trans kids, denied COVID, kidnapped migrants and flew them to Martha’s Vineyard, and ate pudding with his fingers," Stephen Colbert said of the Florida governor, who announced his exit from the Republican presidential race on Sunday, adding: “This is one of the most spectacular political crash-and-burns of all time. At least DeSantis doesn’t have to worry about banning history books anymore, because he won’t be in them.” Jimmy Kimmel joked: “So now the field has been narrowed down to Nikki Haley and nobody else, living every woman’s nightmare: being left alone with Donald Trump.”
CBS: More than 50 million watched Kansas City Chiefs-Buffalo Bills, making it the highest-rated NFL divisional playoff game ever
While initial reports had viewership at 39 million, CBS Sports says Sunday night's thriller averaged 50.393 million viewers, up 10% from the Dallas Cowboys vs. the San Francisco 49ers in the same window a year ago.
Riverdale's Charles Melton fails to secure an Oscar nomination for May December
Last fall, Riverdale fans were predicting Oscar glory for Melton, who received a lot of awards season buzz for his performance as a 30-something man-child in the film riffing on the Mary Kay Letourneau student-teacher sex scandal of the 1990s. Melton's possible ascension from The CW star to the Oscars received a lot of attention, with the actor saying: "Riverdale truly was my Juilliard — I was learning and growing and playing and taking risks. I was allowed to do that.”
Stephen A. Smith tells Howard Stern he wants to debate Donald Trump: "I'd eat him alive"
"I wouldn't run for the presidency, but I'd debate Trump any day of the week," the ESPN star said on The Howard Stern Show. "Name the time and place and I'll show up."
Mariska Hargitay celebrates her 60th birthday: “I’m proud of it. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been”
“The age thing was never something I was scared of,” the Law & Order: SVU star told People in advance of today's milestone birthday. “I didn’t get cast on SVU) until I was 35 and then the show kept going as I aged. At 45, we’d been on for ten years and I just met my husband (when Peter Hermann had a guest role on the show.) The man of my dreams. I got married at 40. I had August (her eldest son) at 42. So it was like defying all the odds."
Happy 50th birthday to Tiffani Thiessen!
Thiessen becomes the second member of Saved by the Bell's core high school cast to enter their 50s, after Mario Lopez, who turned 50 last October. Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Lark Voorhies turn 50 in March, while Elizabeth Berkley enters her 50s in July. To celebrate, Thiessen got a new tattoo of a butterfly on her hand, writing on Instagram last week that it “seems fitting as I feel a new sense of transformation as I’m about to turn 50."
Sharon Osbourne reveals she attempted suicide after learning of Ozzy Osbourne’s extramarital affair
The Talk alum says she tried to kill herself via overdose after learning of her rocker husband's affair with hairdresser Michelle Pugh from 2012 to 2016. Speaking on stage with friend Jane Moore at a London theatre show on Sunday night, Sharon added: “I just thought ‘My kids are older, they are fine and can take care of themselves’. So I took an overdose and locked myself in the bedroom. The maid tried to come in to clean room and saw me.” The Osbournes separated in 2016, but later reconciled.
The Weather Channel greenlights Rocky Mountain Wreckers
The docuseries will follow four family-owned heavy wrecking businesses across Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. “Rocky Mountain Wreckers follows the lives of four wrecking crews who brave extreme weather conditions just doing their daily jobs," according to the official description. "One wrong turn can mean a business catastrophe — or even prove fatal. This series will be a great addition to our primetime line-up as it combines high-stakes excitement, adventure and weather stories that our viewers expect to see on The Weather Channel.”
The Bachelor introduces a new twist: Sisters competing against each other
Lauren Hollinger, 28, and Allison Hollinger, 26, went into the premiere keeping their sisterly connection secret from Joey Graziadei. But that didn't last long, as they decided to come clean midway through the episode. “I’m having a hard time dating 32 women at once, let alone sisters,” Graziadei told the camera.