ESPN and World Wrestling Entertainment reached an agreement for Wrestlemania to stream on the sports network’s upcoming direct-to-consumer service.
“WWE has an immense, devoted and passionate fan base that we’re excited to super-serve on our new ESPN DTC platform,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said. “This agreement, which features the most significant WWE events of the year, bolsters our unprecedented content portfolio and helps drive our streaming future.”
The deal includes premium live events like Wrestlemania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series and Money in the Bank. These events previously streamed on Peacock earlier this year.
“We are proud to reinforce the ‘E’ in ESPN at such an exciting juncture in its direct-to-consumer journey,” Mark Shapiro, president and chief operating officer of TKO, said in a statement. “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. 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.”
ESPN previously partnered with TKO on its UFC deal.
The new streaming service debuts on Aug. 21 and will cost $29.99 a month.
The network announced earlier this year that former “SportsCenter” anchor Rich Eisen was returning to the network to join the streaming service.
ESPN also acquired NFL Network and related assets earlier this week.
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