WWE Premium Live Events, Including “Wrestlemania” Moving To ESPN
Disney has announced a massive new deal with the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) to bring all WWE Premium Live Events (PLEs), including the two-night cultural phenomenon WrestleMania, to ESPN platforms, including the new ESPN direct-to-consumer streaming service and, thus, through ESPN On Disney+, in the United States from 2026.
The new ESPN direct-to-consumer service, which is launching later this year and will be available through the ESPN hub on Disney+, will stream all WWE PLEs annually, in their entirety, with select simulcasting on ESPN linear platforms. Marquee PLEs include WrestleMania and SummerSlam – both two-night events – and Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, Money in the Bank, among others. WWE will continue to produce all PLEs. The first event to kick off the deal will be the Royal Rumble, which will take place for the first time in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN, said in a statement regarding the new deal:
“WWE has an immense, devoted and passionate fanbase that we’re excited to super-serve on our new ESPN DTC platform. This agreement, which features the most-significant WWE events of the year, bolsters our unprecedented content portfolio and helps drive our streaming future.”
Mark Shapiro, President and Chief Operating Officer, TKO, added:
“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.”
Nick Khan, President, WWE, also 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.”
ESPN platforms, including its DTC service, will have the opportunity to stream WWE’s pre-and post-event shows tied to all Premium Live Events.
Recently, Netflix signed a multi-year deal to bring WWE shows to fans around the world, so this new deal with ESPN only covers the United States. Still, it’s a big grab of original programming from Peacock, and it’s another major new deal to get people to sign up to the new streaming version of ESPN. Disney wasn’t able to get hold of the weekly shows such as NXT, RAW or Smackdown, but this does mean WWE has a much bigger reach with different platforms across the US. It could also potentially hint at a future deal between the UFC and ESPN, whose current deal expires later this year, as both the WWE and UFC are owned by TKO.
What do you think of ESPN becoming the home of WWE Premium Live Events in the US? Let me know on social media!
