LOS ANGELES (AP) — WWE will perform on a stage next month that could be vastly larger than its current home on cable television when “Raw,” its weekly live show, makes its debut on Netflix.

The sports entertainment company is moving to a platform with about 283 million subscribers worldwide as it departs its current home on the USA Network, which averaged 688,000 viewers in prime time last year, according to the Nielsen company.

For Netflix, onboarding the WWE is part of a strategic move to air more live events on the heels of a hugely successful fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul that was viewed by more than 60 million people.

“Raw” has been averaging about 1.5 million viewers on USA Network over the past month, according to Nielsen.

WWE has produced thousands of episodes of “Raw,” since its debut in 1993, with star performers like Seth Rollins, CM Punk and Rhea Ripley. “Raw” and the media rights that come with it, had become a hot commodity before WWE reached a deal worth more than $5 billion with Netflix.

In addition to a larger pool of potential viewers, moving to Netflix means the WWE won’t have to worry as much about curse words getting muted or potentially gory scenes or risque or obscene gestures being blurred.

And as it has done throughout its history, WWE has promoted the shift to Netflix across different platforms as it seeks to expand its audience.

During a Travis Scott concert last month, former professional wrestler and now WWE chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque told attendees from the stage that one of the rapper’s song will be the new ”Raw” theme song, and that Scott will appear on the first episode on Netflix on January 6.

WWE has consistently managed to put itself before new and sometimes massive audiences, including the Super Bowl.

After defeating the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII two years ago, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and MVP Patrick Mahomes posted a photo of himself on Twitter holding the Vince Lombardi trophy in one hand, and a WWE belt in the other.

Netflix sees huge potential in live entertainment in addition to its traditional lineup.

“The contributor to growing engagement is going to be across the board on our scripted and unscripted, our documentary programming, all the kinds of things that people love, including now the addition of some live hours,” Netflix co-CEO Theodore Sarandos said after the company’s most recent quarterly earnings report.

Aside from its deal with WWE, the company announced in May that it will stream two National Football League games globally on Christmas Day as part of a three-year deal with the league.

That live programming will be an important part of Netflix’s strategy going forward, said JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth.

“Netflix is increasingly focused on sports entertainment, events, and shoulder content and we expect a bigger push into live sports over time, particularly as negotiating leverage shifts in Netflix’s direction,” he wrote in an analyst note last month.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Rocky Balboa fans are ready to go the distance — by bus, by ice skates, by 72 steps — to honor Philly’s favorite fictional fighter almost 50 years after the first movie launched the enduring series of an underdog boxer persevering despite the odds.

Yo, Adrian, Philly finally did it!

The city Rocky called home at last has a week dedicated to the box office heavyweight champion of the world a year after the inaugural Rocky Day was held with Sylvester Stallone in attendance at the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps.

It’s Rocky, so of course there’s a sequel.

This year, it’s RockyFest.

The Rocky Bus Tour served as Round 1 over the weekend before the festival truly laced up its gloves for Tuesday’s opening event — on Dec. 3, the 1976 release date of “Rocky” — with area elementary school students running the Rocky steps.

A second cast of the Rocky statue was unveiled Tuesday at the top of the Rocky steps — where the original was featured in “Rocky III” — and will remain there through Dec. 31.

“This statue represents everything that the Rocky films stand for: resilience, heart, and the unbreakable bond between Rocky and the people of Philadelphia,” Stallone said in a statement.

Rocky is feted this week with a mural unveiling, movie marathons, RockyU discussions on the enduring appeal of Stallone’s most famous character, look-alike contests and even a bus tour. The tour — with QR codes that pull up scenes from the movies at designated sites – weaves Rocky fanatics through the city and includes stops at Adrian and Paulie’s fictional graves (not far from the real one for former Phillies announcer Harry Kalas), the Italian Market where Rocky trained, and the exterior site of Mighty Mick’s Gym.

“If no one has seen the movie,” tour guide Adam Clements said before a recent trip, “there will be spoilers.”

Rocky fans can even recreate Rocky and Adrian’s first date at a local ice rink.

It seems almost as improbable as Rocky Balboa lasting 15 rounds with champion Apollo Creed that it took so long for Philadelphia to properly honor “Rocky” and the other eight movies in the series (including three “Creed” films).

Whether natives like it or not, Rocky is as much a part of the fabric of the city as the Founding Fathers and the Liberty Bell.

Before most fans chug their first raw eggs of the day, the Rocky statue at the base of the museum steps already boasts a line that often snakes around the corner for most of the day. Movie clips are played ad nauseam — usually Adrian imploring Rocky to win — on the big screen at sporting events. The strains of “Gonna Fly Now” stir ahead of kickoff for all Eagles games. Rocky’s faithful followers run a 50-kilometer race each year that follows his trumped-up training route in a grueling tribute to their mythical champ.

There’s even a merchandise stand at the steps that sells “Italian Stallion” robes and plush Clubber Lang dolls a short run from where Paul Cézanne and Claude Monet’s works hang in the museum.

Choose your favorite canvas, there’s a little something for everyone.

While Stallone and “Creed” star Michael B. Jordan have made previous promotional stops at the Rocky steps, no actors were expected to attend this year’s events.

The 78-year-old Stallone did appear last year at a rain-soaked Rocky Day and credited the city for the character’s success as much as anything the weathered fighter achieved on the big screen.

“I’ve been around the world,” Stallone said. “But for some reason, these 72 steps inspire me, excite me. It’s like you get to the top, you feel inspired, you feel special, hopeful, happy. Most of all, proud of yourself. To all of you, who, believe it or not are real-life Rockys, because you live your life on your own terms, you try and do the best you can and you just keep punching.”

The 1976 film won a best picture Oscar and in 2020 finished tied for No. 2 in The AP Top 25 favorite sports movies poll.

The Philadelphia Visitors Center hatched RockyFest — which runs through Dec. 8 — in part for an overdue appreciation of the series as well as connecting locals and tourists to movie sites beyond the bronze statue.

“For years, there were tourists coming every single day to get their photo at the Rocky statue and there was nothing here officially to greet them,” said Maita Soukup, of the Philadelphia Visitor’s Center. ”There were no maps, no signage, no sort of visitor services infrastructure here at the Rocky statue and steps, even though it was such a big tourist attraction. That’s why we wanted to open a visitor’s center here. In the process of the city pursing that, Sly Stallone reached out to us and was like, let’s do this in partnership.”

Just like Rocky, if the first festival is successful, expect II and III and IV and more.