ESPN, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company, and WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. signed a rights agreement for ESPN's streaming service to exclusively hold all domestic US broadcast rights to WWE Premium Live Events (PLEs), including flagship events Wrestlemania, SummerSlam, and Royal Rumble, among others, starting in 2026, the companies announced on Wednesday.
Netflix will maintain rights for WWE programming around the world, "other than select international markets," TKO clarified.
US-based media outlets expanded on the details of the rights agreement.
ESPN will pay an average of $325 million per year for five years for the rights, according to CNBC, citing people familiar with the matter who declined to be named. This would total $1.6 billion over the five-year period. CNBC noted that WWE and ESPN spokespeople declined to comment on the amount paid.
NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service, who currently hold the broadcast rights, paid $180 million per year over five years, according to two sources cited by CNBC.
WWE signed a 10-year deal worth $5 billion with Netflix in 2025 to stream the "Raw" event every Monday night, CNBC noted. This is likely to continue, CNBC implied.
"SmackDown," which broadcasts on Fridays, will continue to stream on Peacock, at least until the deal expires in 2029, sources familiar with the matter told CNBC.
Disney, on Wednesday, reported quarterly earnings that showed ESPN's domestic revenue rose by 1% to $3.93 billion, according to CNBC's report.
TKO's stock price fell by nearly 3% on Thursday afternoon, hovering at around $159, despite the deal being announced, according to Deadline. Analysts cited by Deadline believe the deal may boost TKO's share price by approximately $6.
This is despite the shortfall at an average deal of $325 million annually, when analysts believed it would be at approximately $340 million annually for broadcast rights, Deadline noted.
ESPN and TKO already had a partnership in broadcasting UFC fights, at a deal valued at $300 million annually, the Wall Street Journal noted. This deal expires at the end of 2025, and is expected to "sharply increase," WSJ added.
ESPN is also seeking to gain the rights to other major sports broadcasting in the US, with Disney unveiling a deal on Tuesday with the National Football League, in which the NFL will take a 10% stake in ESPN in return for control of key media assets, including NFL Network, WSJ reported.
ESPN is also in talks with Major League Baseball about a rights package, according to a person familiar with the matter, cited by WSJ.
Quotes from ESPN, Disney, TKO officials
"WWE has an immense, devoted, and passionate fanbase 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," ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said.
"We are proud to reinforce the “E” in ESPN at such an exciting juncture in its direct-to-consumer journey. WWE Premium Live Events are renowned for exactly the type of rich storytelling, incredible feats of athleticism and can’t-miss, cultural tentpole experiences that have become synonymous with ESPN," TKO's President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Shapiro commented.
"Through our UFC relationship, we have experienced firsthand how transformational an ESPN presence can be, and we know this will be an exceptional partnership at a time of great innovation for both companies," Shapiro added.
"WWE’s agreement with ESPN is a pivotal moment for our millions of fans across the United States: the leader in sports entertainment partnering with the biggest brand in sports media. Bringing WWE’s flagship events to ESPN’s platform is tremendously exciting. We know the sky is the limit," WWE President Nick Khan stated.
WWE and ESPN have moved closer strategically in recent years, Shapiro also stated in an interview cited by CNBC. The report noted that Shapiro was an ESPN executive earlier in his career.
"In many ways, this is our destiny. If you want to expand the audience, our fan base, the fervor around WWE, and grow on a real significant national scale, you can’t do that as it relates to the sports world without partnering with ESPN," Shapiro said.
Approximately half of WWE live event attendees come with children, and 38% of WWE's audience is women, Khan noted, according to CNBC. "It’s multigenerational viewing, and we think ESPN is multigenerational viewing," he said.