ESPN and WWE today announced a new five-year rights agreement where ESPN’s direct-to-consumer streaming service will become the exclusive U.S. domestic home of all WWE Premium Live Events from 2026.
The service will stream all WWE PLEs annually, in their entirety, with select simulcasting on ESPN linear platforms. Marquee PLEs include WrestleMania and SummerSlam – both two-night events – and Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, Money in the Bank, among others.
The WWE’s premium events package has been on NBCUniversal’s Peacock. WWE SmackDown will remain on Peacock and USA Network.
According to CNBC, ESPN’s parent company Disney, will pay TKO, WWE’s parent company, $325 million per year, which is a huge increase on the $180 million per year NBC was paying.
“WWE has an immense, devoted and passionate fanbase that we’re excited to super-serve on our new ESPN DTC platform,” said Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN.
“This agreement, which features the most-significant WWE events of the year, bolsters our unprecedented content portfolio and helps drive our streaming future.”
Nick Khan, President at WWE added: “WWE’s agreement with ESPN is a pivotal moment for our millions of fans across the United States: the leader in sports entertainment partnering with the biggest brand in sports media. Bringing WWE’s flagship events to ESPN’s platform is tremendously exciting. We know the sky is the limit.”
ESPN platforms, including its DTC service, will have the opportunity to stream WWE’s pre-and post-event shows tied to all Premium Live Events.
