Current WWE Broadcasting Partner Reportedly Had The Opportunity To Match ESPN Deal

Beginning next March, WWE PLEs will begin streaming on the new ESPN streaming service in the United States, with a $325 million per year deal announced earlier this week. This morning, reporter John Ourand took to X to share a round-up of news regarding ESPN's new service, including the fact that WWE was contractually obligated to offer NBC a chance to match the ESPN deal. NBC leadership decided against the decision, likely because they'd be paying more money for a package that includes less WWE content than they currently pay for.

WWE's current agreement with Peacock features all premium live events, including those for WWE NXT and the company's entire pay-per-view archive. With the new ESPN deal, WWE is free to negotiate NXT PLEs and the back catalog as part of another package.

This shouldn't affect "WWE Raw," "SmackDown," or "NXT," as all of those are locked into existing deals with different media partners for at least the next several years. Additionally, for many countries outside of the United States, Netflix will remain the home of most WWE broadcasts.

For fans in the US, beginning with next year's WWE WrestleMania 42, they'll have to subscribe to ESPN's streaming service for $30 per month, or subscribe to a cable or live TV package that includes ESPN and has integration with the new service. Some PLEs will reportedly play on ESPN's traditional network, but it's not yet clear which events that will be, or if it'll even include the entire show or just a sample.