ESPN Acquires Rights To WWE PLEs In Five-Year Deal Starting In 2026

WWE is headed to ESPN, with a new five-year deal announced for the company’s premium live events. ESPN announced the deal in a press release on Wednesday morning, which stated that ESPN platforms, including the new ESPN direct-to-consumer streaming service, will become the exclusive US domestic home of all WWE PLEs including WrestleMania starting in 2026.

The announcement noted that ESPN’s new streaming service, which will launch on August 21st, will stream all WWE PLEs annually in their entirety. There will be select simulcasting of the events on ESPN’s linear platforms. WWE will continue to produce all of their events. The deal further expands WWE’s portfolio of media partners in the US with Raw airing on Netflix, Smackdown airing on USA Network, and NXT airing on The CW. Netflix is the international platform for Raw, Smackdown, NXT and WWE PLEs.

WWE’s PLEs have been on Peacock up to now. The Wall Street Journal reports that the deal with ESPN is worth $325 million annually, or $1.6 billion overall.

The new ESPN streaming service is set to cost $29.99 a month and will be available in a bundle with Disney+ and Hulu, with a special offer at launch (with ads on Disney+ and Hulu) for $29.99 for the first year. The ESPN streaming service will include access to all of ESPN’s linear networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, and ESPN Deportes) in addition to ESPN on ABC, ESPN+, ESPN3, SECN+, and ACCNX and include 47,000 live sporting events per year along with studio shows, on-demand replays and more. ESPN+ will be priced at $11.99 per month for select offerings (listed at over 32,000 live events a year), and current ESPN+ subscribers (including through bundles with Disney & Hulu) will become subscribers to the ESPN select plan. It is not immediately clear if ESPN+ will include access to any WWE PLE content.

The announcement noted that ESPN platforms, including the ESPN streaming service, will “have the opportunity” to stream WWE’s pre- and post-event shows tied to all PLEs. The news comes just hours after ESPN announced a massive deal with the NFL to acquire the NFL Network as well as rights to RedZone and additional NFL games, which also gave the NFL a 10% ownership stake in the company.

TKO President and COO Mark Shapiro said in the announcement, “We are proud to reinforce the ‘E’ in ESPN at such an exciting juncture in its direct-to-consumer journey. WWE Premium Live Events are renowned for exactly the type of rich storytelling, incredible feats of athleticism and can’t-miss, cultural tentpole experiences that have become synonymous with ESPN. Through our UFC relationship, we have experienced firsthand how transformational an ESPN presence can be, and we know this will be an exceptional partnership at a time of great innovation for both companies.”

WWE President Nick Khan 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.”