ESPN Hungry For More WWE Content, Expresses Interest In Additional Rights

WWE and ESPN announced a massive new partnership last week that will feature all of the WWE PLE's streaming on the new ESPN direct-to-consumer platform beginning in 2026.

The move pulls WWE out of the Peacock platform that they've been tied to since 2021 and into the new sports centric ecosystem of ESPN. ESPN reportedly will be paying WWE $325 million per year for the rights to the the special events.

Inside the new partnership, major WWE events like both nights of WrestleMania, both nights of SummerSlam, other monthly PLE's, and NXT special events will stream live on the new ESPN platform.

The new partnership may not stop there, however.

"WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble are gonna be bigger than ever."@TripleH joined @GetUpESPN to discuss ESPN's new rights agreement with the @WWE 🤝 pic.twitter.com/zDdPsBP2K6
— ESPN (@espn) August 6, 2025

In a new interview with The Ringer, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro confirmed that the sports juggernaut is also interested in acquiring the rights to the massive WWE content library.

“We’re always interested in content of that quality. We will have the archival rights for the events that we are airing. In terms of their library, we certainly would be interested if and when those rights are available."
Jimmy Pitaro (h/t Fightful)

Currently, most of the WWE content library lives on Peacock along with the current PLE's. The archival material has also been slowly dripping to the WWE Vault YouTube channel, which has become the home for some show rarities and hidden gems within the WWE library.

WWE Network is a distant memory

WWE attempted to monetize their own library with the creation of the WWE Network in 2014. WWE built a network full of old footage from various territories like Mid-South Wrestling, AWA, Jim Crockett Promotions, and others, but paired that up with current WWE PPV events like WrestleMania, Summerslam, and Royal Rumble.

The WWE Network faded away domestically in 2021 when the company sold the PLE rights to Peacock. The network maintained it's functionality internationally, but now is shut down due to WWE moving it's international streaming efforts to Netflix.

Since Nick Khan joined the WWE in 2020, there has been a dramatic shift in content strategy. WWE has diversified it's reach as it's now on Netflix, traditional cable, broadcast television, YouTube, various social media platforms, and much more.

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