New Japan Pro-Wrestling Lands TV Deal With Roku

New Japan Pro-Wrestling has been a company on the rise with American audiences in the past decade due to partnerships with TNA, Ring of Honor, now possibly AEW. The launch of New Japan World back in 2014 was a turning point for the company with how accessible it became, but now they're taking it a step further.

Variety is reporting that the wrestling company is launching its own Roku channel in the near future. The channel will be viewable in American, Canada, and the UK. Beginning February 11, New Japan will air every Thursday at 5 PM ET, then the replays will be available on-demand.

Additionally, the Roku Channel will have a slew of content from NJPW 2020 events so new fans can be initiated with the company fairly quickly.

"Our fans in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom are among our most loyal, and they have been very clear that they want NJPW's content made available to them," said Takami Ohbari, president of NJPW in a statement. "NJPW is unlike any other pro-wrestling in the world. It is the most athletic, sports-oriented pro-wrestling on the planet, and we are excited to bring our athletes and matches to these markets in such a major way. Thank you to The Roku Channel, and we look forward to a successful partnership that brings NJPW to millions of new fans around the world."

Ohbari succeeded Harold Meij as president back in October. Meij was a key figure in the western expansion and getting American audiences familiar with the product and stars of the company, taking them on a US tour for most of 2018, which led to the G1 Supercard show with Ring of Honor in April 2019, selling out in New York City's Madison Square Garden.

New Japan had a deal with AXS TV with showing months-old programs and events for a couple of years, but eventually went to the Canadian-based Fight Networking in 2016.

The deal with Roku will make NJPW the first pro-wrestling promotion to debut on an AVOD streaming service. Last month, it was announced that WWE that it will be moving the WWE Network over to Peacock, with that transition set to take place on March 18.