Posted on 9/17/125 by Colin Vassallo
Ahead of Wrestlepalooza, ESPN Programming and Acquisitions
Lead Matt Kenny and ESPN Senior Vice President JT Lasker
took questions from the press to discuss their new WWE deal.
Asked about Wrestlepalooza falling on the same date as All
Out and counter programming AEW, Kenny said that several
dates were already booked beforehand and they have to deal
with not just WWE, but other sports. They wanted to have a
marquee WWE event this month to coincide with the launch of
the ESPN DTC app so it had less to do wrestling competition
but more with timing of the launch of the app.
The two confirmed that WWE will retain creative control of
everything they will produce and they are just distributors
for the show. On the other hand, ESPN will retain full
control of what their journalists cover, even with WWE’s
competition, calling it “separation of church and state.”
Asked about simulcasts, they said ESPN is contractually
obligated to air a minimum number of WWE PLEs on linear
television and they will have to strike a balance in what
they will offer and how they will use their influence when
it comes to simulcasts.
As for the WWE video library moving to ESPN in the future,
Kenny said that he cannot talk about that and that’s a
question that they would have to ask WWE.
“The rights that we have are for the Premium Live Events and
those will be called bankable VOD, so as the events take
place on our platforms, we’ll be able to offer those events
on demand,” he said. “Our PLE library will build over time.
But in terms of the broader library, I would direct your
question to the WWE to handle.”