Talpa Network and WWE announce details of new broadcast partnership in the Netherlands

WrestleMania will be available as a live pay-per-view event for the first time in the Netherlands on 11 and 12 April

WWE and Talpa Network have agreed a new partnership to broadcast WWE’s weekly flagship programmes Raw and SmackDown, and to offer WrestleMania as a live pay-per-view event for the first time in the Netherlands on 11 and 12 April.

Beginning 9 April, one-hour versions of Raw and SmackDown will be broadcast on the free-to-air channel Veronica on Friday evenings beginning at 23:45 (CEST). The full-length versions of Raw and SmackDown will be available to view on Talpa’s on-demand service KIJK immediately following the US broadcasts.

In addition to weekly programming, WWE’s two-night pop culture extravaganza WrestleMania will made available live on KIJK pay-per-view on 11-12 April, emanating from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida.

“We are excited to bring our weekly flagship programming to Talpa Network along with our global pop culture extravaganza WrestleMania,” said Andy Warkman, WWE VP, general manager, Europe and Sub Saharan Africa. “This new partnership allows us to expand our reach and deliver our unique blend of action-packed, family-friendly entertainment to WWE fans throughout the Netherlands.”

“We are very happy that this unique partnership enables us to broadcast WWE’s weekly flagship programmes Raw and SmackDown, and offer WrestleMania as a live pay-per-view event to the Dutch audience on 11 and 12 April. It’s an exciting and spectacular novelty in the Netherlands that hopefully leads to many happy fans and viewers on Veronica and KIJK,” said Bastiaan van Dalen, head of Veronica.