Huge Update On WWE's New ESPN PLE Deal, New Details Revealed (WWE News)

More details on WWE's five-year deal with ESPN.

Aug 7, 2025 August 7th, 2025

Following the huge news that WWE has struck a deal for ESPN to be the exclusive US home for all Premium Live Events from 2026, there now comes an update on what that means for WWE and the sports broadcast leader.

For those who may have missed it, yesterday saw it announced that WWE PLEs will move to ESPN's new direct-to-consumer streaming service from next year, with select WWE events also simulcasting on ESPN's linear platform. Per CNBC, that agreement will see WWE net a cool $325 million each year for the next five years, which dwarfs WWE's previous $180 million per year deal with NBC Universal's Peacock as the US home for PLEs.

Since that news broke, Fightful Select has reached out to inquire about what will be happening to the WWE archives, to which the outlet wasn't given a firm answer, but noted how there is a belief that WWE has an advanced deal with Google due to the company's YouTube presence that could mean a "far grander utilisation" of WWE's Vault channels.

Following Wrestlenomics' Brandon Thurston saying he's of the impression that Peacock's current deal with WWE PLEs runs until March 2026, this Fightful report adds that the ESPN deal is expected to kick off ahead of WrestleMania 42, running through until just before WrestleMania 47. Seemingly a strategic move, that means that WrestleMania 47 will be on the horizon as a major selling point when WWE comes to renew their ESPN deal or if looking to ship those PLEs elsewhere.

Following a Paul Levesque appearance on ESPN yesterday, it's expected that we'll be seeing plenty of cross-promotional work between ESPN and WWE, including ESPN names appearing on WWE pre-shows. Interestingly, TKO stock was down 2.69% yesterday after this announcement.

For those wondering, this deal will not impact SmackDown on Peacock in the United States. While WWE's blue brand airs on the USA Network, it will continue to stream on Peacock as part of a separate deal that runs through until 2029. SmackDown will be the only WWE content on the Peacock service once that ESPN deal kicks in next year.

ESPN's new direct-to-consumer streaming service launches on Thursday, 21 August at $29.99 per month, which will feature NFL, NHL, NBA, WNBA, international soccer, college football, various other sports, and plentiful analysis shows such as SportsCenter, First Taken, and The Pat McAfee Show. As well as WWE being listed as "just around the corner" for the service, so, too, are UFC events. The recently acquired NFL Network will also be a part of that DTC service.

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Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

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