In a landmark announcement for the sports and entertainment industry, WWE President Nick Khan has officially discussed the company’s new media rights deal that will bring its domestic package of Premium Live Events, including WrestleMania, to ESPN’s upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming service beginning in 2026.
A New Frontier
The move marks the end of WWE’s successful partnership with Peacock, which has been the home for the WWE Network in the United States since 2021. Speaking on The Varsity podcast, Khan praised their outgoing partner but expressed his excitement for the future with Disney and ESPN.
“Look, we’re excited, John, and before we get into all the Disney hype, I do want to say how amazing of a partner Peacock has been and continues to be… We bet on peacock early. They bet on WWE early. We think the bet paid off for both sides, and here we are now today with Disney. It’s a whole new frontier for us. We’re excited about it, obviously, between Mark Shapiro, Ari Emanuel, myself, Triple H, we have extensive history with Disney. We think extremely positive history with Disney, and the opportunity to take WWE there, we think will broaden the horizons and broaden the viewership with all of our fans and new fans coming in.”
The deal represents a massive acquisition for ESPN as it prepares to launch its own standalone streaming service, often referred to as “flagship.” The loyal and passionate WWE fanbase is seen as a key demographic to drive early subscriptions for the new platform, giving it a blockbuster, year-round live sports property from day one.
What’s Included in the Deal
Khan provided specific details on the structure of the deal, confirming that subscribers to the new ESPN app will get access to all of WWE’s biggest shows without having to pay an additional fee, continuing the model established with the WWE Network and Peacock.
“Look in 2014 WWE… went off of traditional pay per view and onto its own OTT service, the WWE Network, which was 9.99 a month, there was no up charge for pay per views like WrestleMania anymore. When we did the peacock deal in 2020, same thing, no up charge for what were pay per views. Same thing here, with what has been referred to as ESPN flagship. You subscribe to that product. You get WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble, all of our other premium live events with no up charge… What Disney is getting is our biggest events domestically. In the United States, it’s 10 events, but it’s over the course of 12 nights. As I mentioned earlier, WrestleMania is a two-night event. SummerSlam is now a two-night event… It’s going to start as 10 events, but 12 nights again, with two of the events being two-nighters.”
The deal will officially begin in January 2026. Until then, fans in the United States can continue to watch all of WWE’s Premium Live Events on Peacock.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit The Varsity with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
