Backstage Update on WWE & ESPN Relationship, Deal Reportedly Won’t Be Renewed After Contract Ends

As previously reported, ESPN this week announced price increases for the ESPN App, which is the streaming home for WWE premium live events in the U.S. According to a report by BJ Bethel with SEScoops, ESPN doesn’t plan on renewing its current deal with WWE once it expires at the end of its contract.

ESPN and WWE previously signed a five-year deal, valued at $1.6 billion, to stream WWE PLEs on its app for Unlimited tier subscribers. The deal launched in September 2025 with the first Wrestlepalooza event.

Multiple sources informed SEScoops that WWE and ESPN’s ongoing deal has faced several issues, including the current media market, “culture and synergy” issues between the two entities, and the failure of television providers to pick up the cost off the app for customers. The WWE and ESPN deal reportedly came together at the executive level in Disney and TKO.

One source also informed the outlet that there were “virtually no discussions” between WWE and ESPN when the new ESPN App was launched, and WWE PLEs started airing on the service. That’s said to have changed recently, with ESPN promoting its WWE content and making the shows available on the lower app tiers, along with airing the first hours of PLEs on ESPN’s linear networks.

There’s also been backlash against ESPN’s WWE coverage from sports fans. Last week, Awful Announcing noted that there was more WWE discussion on the main ESPN network with its three morning shows than MLB and the NHL, which drew backlash on social media and from media outlets.

Along with the price of the ESPN app rising, the price of the app through the Hulu and Disney+ bundle also changed last week. The report notes that four out of five ESPN App subscribers view the app through the Disney bundle.

WWE and ESPN Relationship Reportedly Dealing With Multiple Issues

Disney reportedly saw the Unlimited app as a way to recoup carriage-fee losses as fewer people were purchasing cable packages. Additionally, Disney executives thought the WWE PLEs being offered on the ESPN App would serve as extra incentive for television providers to strike deals to offer the app to customers.

The report also goes on to explain that when providers don’t pick up the app, it falls on ESPN to sell it directly to subscribers, which ESPN reportedly didn’t consider when the app started its initial rollout.

When asked if there was anything that could save the deal, which still has about four years remaining on its length, one source said it would require a significant increase in subscriptions, or providers picking up the app at a friendlier deal for ESPN.

ESPN also streams CW Sports, featuring WWE’s weekly NXT TV show and premium live events. NXT Heatwave is scheduled for Sunday, August 30.