ESPN has landed the rights to stream WWE's pay-per-view events starting in 2026. WWE and Disney announced the billion-dollar deal on Wednesday, stating that ESPN will host the wrestling company's biggest events, including WrestleMania, Summer Slam, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series and Money in the Bank.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the five-year agreement is worth $1.6 billion. The shows will be hosted by ESPN's new streaming service, set to launch on August 21 and cost $29.99 per month.
ESPN's deal boasts a significant increase in value compared to WWE's current deal with Peacock, which is valued at $900 million and set to expire this year. The streaming platform, owned by Comcast, has housed WWE events since 2021.
"WWE has an immense, devoted and passionate fan base that we're excited to super-serve on our new ESPN DTC platform," ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said. "This agreement, which features the most significant WWE events of the year, bolsters our unprecedented content portfolio and helps drive our streaming future."
The new deal also includes pre- and post-shows for the pay-per-view events. WWE's pay-per-view calendar will begin with the Royal Rumble in January, which will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
"We are proud to reinforce the 'E' in ESPN at such an exciting juncture in its direct-to-consumer journey," Mark Shapiro, president and chief operating officer of TKO, said in a statement.
"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," Shapiro added. "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."
While the pay-per-view events will be streaming on ESPN, WWE's flagship program, Monday Night Raw, will remain on Netflix after inking a contract with the platform. Netflix began hosting Raw in January of this year after signing a 10-year, $5 billion exclusive rights deal. While Raw stays on Netflix and events stream on ESPN, SmackDown will remain on Peacock and the USA Network.
WWE has gotten more popular in recent years with soaring viewership across platforms. According to Fox News' data, viewership for Raw was up 4%, SmackDown saw a 10% spike and NXT went up 28% as of last summer.
The WWE deal follows ESPN's acquisition of the NFL Network and NFL RedZone, in which the NFL will gain a 10% equity stake in the network.
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