WWE Network Set To Launch In China
The service will be available in the People's Republic from August 18th.
The WWE Network will finally become available in China on August 18th, according to an official release on WWE.com.
PPTV, a Chinese streaming platform, will exclusively host the Network. Content will be accessible through PPTV's mobile app, smart TVs, set-top boxes, and mobile devices, as well as on both companies' official websites.
This is WWE's latest attempt at making inroads into the Chinese market. They agreed a multi-year deal with PPTV to stream Raw and SmackDown in Mandarin last June, and also signed eight developmental wrestlers from the People's Republic in 2016, with Tian Bing featuring as part of this year's Andre The Giant Battle Royal.
2017 was also the first year that WrestleMania was made available in China, and WWE will head to the country for a live show in Shenzhen on September 17th. The release notes that Chinese viewers will have access to the same live events, original series, and archived footage as all other customers, with WWE promising to add over 1,000 hours of new content over the next 12 months.
Could this latest expansion mean a Chinese wrestler heading to the following in Jinder Mahal's footsteps on the main roster? Perhaps not, but WWE are clearly serious about expanding into China.