Nick Khan Explains How WWE Deal With Peacock Came About

In an interview with The Town podcast (via Wrestling Inc), WWE President Nick Khan spoke about how the company’s deal with Peacock happened leading to the company licensing its content to them. The WWE Network has been phased out in the US and Peacock is the exclusive home to WWE content. Here are highlights:

On the issue with the WWE Network: “In 2014 when Vince and company launched the network, WWE only had to be the third-best to be the third-best in the world after Netflix and Hulu. As we went into 2021, it was a cluttered marketplace. One of the early conversations Vince and I had in my new role was, ‘Hey, we’re not a tech company.’ For a company with a four billion or so market cap to be competing technologically against the Comcasts of the world, the Disneys of the world, etc, companies with 250 plus billion market caps, that would not prove financially possible over time.”

On agreeing to license out content: “We both said in the room together that we should focus on what we do best in the world, which is producing content: sports entertainment content and the off-shoots of it. Let’s license it out just like we license RAW and SmackDown out. That’s how we came to the deal with Peacock.”

On why they chose Peacock: “NBC was a long-time partner of WWE. It goes back 30 years. Monday Night RAW was launched on USA. Even though there was a break 15-20 years ago when WWE went to [SpikeTV], it ultimately went back to USA. To me, and to Vince and business, when an incumbent wants something that you have, you got to give them every opportunity for it. There should be a home team, home town discount. That’s just the way we look at it. When Peacock came so aggressively, even though there were other suitors for [the WWE Network], they wanted it. The numbers made sense. We wanted to give them the chance they had given us as a company.”

On how long the deal is for: “That was a five-year deal when we closed it about a year or so ago. Presumably like most incumbents, they’ll approach us early and make a proposition. We have a great relationship with those folks.”