Why WWE Has Struck Gold With Network Sale

Vince McMahon says goodbye to the WWE Network and hello to $200 million a year.

by Andrew Pollard
Vince McMahon Peacock WWE NBC
WWE / NBC

The wrestling world - well, at least those in North America - was left in shock today with the news that the WWE Network has been purchased by NBCUniversal for exclusive use on their Peacock streaming platform, with the deal purported to be a $1 billion, five-year arrangement.

That means for all wrestling fans in that market, the only way to get your fix of all of the WWE PPVs, documentaries, archive material and all other Network-based content is to sign up for Peacock. That is unless you want to order your PPVs the traditional way, but then that seems a tad silly when given the financials of doing just that.

As of 18 March, the WWE Network will be exclusive to Peacock for the price of $4.99 (including ads) or $9.99 (the ad free version). Given how anyone already subscribing to WWE Network is likely shilling out $9.99, one would imagine that the switch to Peacock won't make that much of a difference to those fans, bar the mild inconvenience of having to sign up for a different streaming service.

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Many are wondering what this deal means for WWE, and our very own Simon Miller is here to break down exactly why NBCU's purchase of WWE Network means that Vince McMahon's sports entertainment behemoth has yet again struck gold.

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Senior Writer
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 dayjob, 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, Jamie Hayer, 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.