First WWE moved Raw to Netflix, now its premium live events will be hosted on ESPN’s upcoming streaming service, potentially leaving many pro wrestling fans submitting to costs.
As announced by ESPN, all premium live events (PLEs) beginning in 2026 will be hosted on their new service. These would include the big four of Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, Summerslam, and Survivor Series, in addition to Elimination Chamber, Money in the Bank and more.
WWE’s PLEs are for the time being housed on Peacock, the base price of which is $10.99 per month. Compare that to ESPN’s streaming service – which launches on August 21st – at a price point of $29.99 per month and we’re likely going to see a number of casual WWE fans foregoing the major events altogether. Objectively, it’s easy to make the case right now that the company just hasn’t been putting out the sort of content that warrants another streaming bill – you did see WrestleMania 41, right?
However, some reports indicate that those who have access to ESPN through another streamer (such as Hulu Live or Fubo) or a cable provider may get WWE’s premiere events at no additional cost. Regardless, with Raw already on Netflix (who also has the reality series Unreal), the WWE Universe will need at least two forms of streaming just to access what the company has to offer. And it’s moments like this that make me miss the WWE Network more than ever…
In a statement, ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said, “WWE has an immense, devoted and passionate fan base that we’re excited to super-serve on our new ESPN DTC platform. This agreement, which features the most significant WWE events of the year, bolsters our unprecedented content portfolio and helps drive our streaming future.”
On the financial side, while WWE’s deal with Netflix came in at $5 billion, ESPN will pay $325 million per year for five years to host their PLEs.
What do you make of ESPN’s deal with the WWE? Will you be paying $30/month to have access to the PLEs? Give us your take on the deal in the comments section below.
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