ESPN has secured the exclusive U.S. domestic rights to broadcast all of WWE's Premium Live Events (PLEs) in a five-year deal reportedly valued at over $1.6 billion, or approximately $325 million annually. The agreement, which begins in 2026, will see events like WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, and SummerSlam move from their current home on Peacock to ESPN's new direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming service. Select events will also be simulcast on ESPN's linear television channels. This move marks a significant shift in WWE's media landscape and is a major play for ESPN as it launches its new streaming platform.
The multi-billion dollar deal solidifies the partnership between ESPN and WWE, building on the existing relationship with UFC, which is also owned by WWE's parent company, TKO Group Holdings. The agreement grants ESPN the exclusive U.S. rights to all WWE PLEs, with the company's new DTC streaming service becoming the primary home for these events. This means subscribers to the new ESPN platform will have access to all major WWE shows, including pre- and post-event programming, without any extra pay-per-view fees.
The deal is a substantial increase over WWE's previous five-year agreement with Peacock, which was reportedly worth around $900 million. This new partnership is a strategic move for both companies: for WWE, it represents a massive financial boost and a chance to reach a broader, more traditional sports audience; for ESPN, it provides a year-round, high-profile live event property to anchor its new streaming service at launch. The new ESPN streaming service is set to launch later this year at a price point of $29.99 per month.
This new partnership with ESPN is a major piece of WWE's evolving media rights strategy. In a separate deal, WWE's flagship weekly show, Monday Night Raw, will move to Netflix in 2025. This deal is reportedly a 10-year, $5 billion agreement. While the ESPN deal covers WWE's PLEs domestically, the Netflix agreement gives the streaming giant exclusive rights to stream WWE programming, including PLEs, internationally.
Meanwhile, Friday Night SmackDown will remain on USA Network and Peacock until 2029. The different media deals for its weekly shows and premium events demonstrate WWE's commitment to diversifying its content distribution and maximizing its revenue streams. The shift of PLEs to ESPN is a particularly significant change, moving them from a general entertainment streaming service (Peacock) to a platform that is synonymous with sports, which could potentially attract new viewers and further legitimize "sports entertainment" in the eyes of a mainstream sports audience.
