Triple H Talks WWE Raw Runtime on Netflix: "It Will Be Flexible"

Paul “Triple H” Levesque recently made an appearance on the SI Media Podcast with Jimmy Traina, where he opened up about the future of WWE RAW on Netflix and shared intriguing insights into the show’s potential format and runtime flexibility. His comments highlighted the distinct advantages of moving to a platform like Netflix compared to traditional cable television.

“It will be flexible,” Levesque explained. “It will be flexible in I don’t necessarily know the time constraints of network television or cable television apply. It’s a slightly different platform. Much like many episodic shows, they have the ability to do whatever the show needs to have down. If this episode needs to be an hour, great, it’s an hour. If the next episode needs to be 42 minutes, it’s 42 minutes. It’s what makes for the best product. I’m not saying we’re going to be 42 minutes, but clearly we’ll deliver the product in a way that is best for Netflix and their business model and best for our storytelling.”

Levesque elaborated on the unique challenges posed by traditional broadcast formats and commercial constraints, emphasizing how Netflix provides an opportunity for more creative freedom. He reflected on the optimal length for wrestling shows, acknowledging that the runtime plays a crucial role in balancing storytelling, character development, and audience engagement.

“For me, the perfect show time is somewhere in the two-and-a-half-hour range,” he shared. “If you had asked me years ago, the two hour shows, you get into them and you don’t have the real estate on that program to get everything in there you want to get in, all the stories and characters. Sometimes, it’s a good thing because it creates scarcity and opportunity for people to be more over, but sometimes there are things you want to get in there. People lose track of the fact that what we do is live. There are formats we have to stick with and constraints of commercial time. If you run a segment that is scheduled for 10 minutes and it ends up being colossal content and goes 17 minutes, you’re now 17 minutes into a show and you have to find places to pull that out and still hit commercial times and crossover times, which is important for networks. All of that makes it difficult to do.”

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He continued, shedding light on how the ability to escape rigid broadcast rules might help enhance the storytelling process. “I think we’ll have more freedom in the format and more freedom to say…if two hours is not enough, three hours you can be in the position of ‘did you need that or was it important?’ I don’t want to say filler because I don’t want anyone to feel like they’re filler. Sometimes, a three-hour show, having hours that crossover, you’re so constrained by that, that you’re putting in the show what we call ‘collapsible.’ The show is heavy, we get late into an hour, something has to lose time. What is collapsible? What is not the story driving everything? What can be shrunk or can go quicker? The amount of commercial time doesn’t change. It’s difficult. Sometimes, three hours can feel long, and two hours is not enough. Somewhere in the middle is a sweet spot.”