8 Big Questions About HUGE NBC Peacock/WWE Network Deal

5. The International Fate Of The WWE Network...

Vince McMahon
WWE

...will apparently remain unchanged. But for how long?

When the Network launched in 2014, a major market was left out in the cold. The United Kingdom was eventually satiated later in the year (and even more so by NXT's 2015 tour and TakeOver), but it'll now serve as the largest market with what will surely become known as the "original" or "classic" version of the streaming service.

American audiences have just had their Network fee slashed in half, but it's unlikely discounts will be forthcoming for international markets. Furthermore, if Peacock eventually has final say on output, the service may have to change with it.

The current corporate releases note no changes outside of the United States, but this is the easiest news to deliver in a time of seismic shifts. No changes right now means nothing in a year or two when WWE's latest billion dollar deal dictates so much of what they do in the way SmackDown's does right now.

This also works under the assumption that Peacock never broadens its reach. It'd be hard to justify the continuation of any version of the Network existing if the NBCU property went global too.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett