ESPN Content Head Weighs In On Interest in WWE’s Media Rights

WWE’s media rights are up for negotiation and the president of content for ESPN has weighed in on whether they’re interested in bidding. Burke Magnus was asked the question on the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch and you can see some highlights below, per Fightful:

“From a glass-half-full perspective, I would say that I believe our companies…and this changed a couple of years ago, so this is not breaking news, but I believe our point of view towards WWE as a potential distribution outlet for their events, I think we passed that a long time ago and we’re now in the bucket of ‘if their rights are available and there is a deal for us that works and a deal for them that works with us, it’s a possibility.’ There is no hesitation anymore from a brand perspective or from a live event vs. scripted perspective.”

On the overlap in fans between ESPN and WWE: “Their fans and our viewers, there is tremendous overlap. To me, it’s about the business of it and is there something that works? To their credit, they run a 52-week-a-year business. I’m thinking, start from a linear perspective, 52 weeks a year is impossible for us to do in almost any configuration based on the other rights that we have. That actually cuts against us from a linear perspective. On the digital side, if we were to be in business with them on a streaming or direct-to-consumer distribution or pay-per-view distribution or other such thing, that’s more easily achievable. They have a great product.”