Posted on 8/06/125 by Colin Vassallo
WWE is exiting the Peacock business early next year and
packing their bags to go to one of the most recognizable
brands on television: ESPN.
The two companies this morning announced a five-year
agreement worth over $1.6 billion, or $325 million a year,
which will see ESPN’s newest direct-to-consumer streaming
service airing WWE’s monthly premium live events in the
United States.
Simply titled ESPN, the new service will launch later this
month on August 21 and will cost $29.99 a month (keep
reading, don’t freak out yet) as a standalone or $35.99 a
month when bundled with Disney+ and Hulu after the first
year. The first year will get you ESPN, Disney+ and Hulu for
the original $29.99 price.AEW merchandise
The all-in-one new ESPN service will consist of all the ESPN
content, including for the first time ever the ability to
stream the ESPN main channels without a cable subscription.
There will be two tiers, the select tier with $11.99 a month
and the unlimited tier with $29.99 a month or $300 a year.
The select tier will have everything that ESPN+ currently
has while the unlimited tier will have the flagship ESPN
channel, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes, ACC Network,
SEC Network, and ESPN on ABC shows. An introductory offer is
expected to include Disney+ and Hulu for year for free for
the unlimited tier.
What does that mean for WWE fans?
Currently, all WWE premium live events air on Peacock for a
much cheaper price. That will go away before WrestleMania
when the deal expires and WWE jumps ship to ESPN.
Unlike the UFC where you have to pay the pay-per-view price
plus the subscription to ESPN+, WWE premium live events will
be part of the service and will not cost anything extra,
basically the same as Peacock. Select premium live events
will also air on ESPN’s linear TV channels, although it was
not indicated which ones will be screened.AEW merchandise
Anyone who already has ESPN through their traditional TV
cable package will not pay extra for the service, which
means in that case, you will drop the Peacock subscription
and get the ESPN streaming service free as part of your
cable package. You would need to authenticate to the new
ESPN using your cable credentials to unlock the free
service. Services such as DirecTV, YouTube TV, Hulu+ Live,
Comcast, etc all qualify to get the free ESPN and WWE
premium live events.
Just a few days ago, ESPN and NFL announced that ESPN will
acquire the NFL Network and other media assets in exchange
for the league taking a 10% stake in the network. Other
properties ESPN is taking over from NFL are the linear
RedZone Channel and NFL Fantasy. NFL will also license to
ESPN certain NFL content and other intellectual property to
be used by NFL Network and other assets.
Keep in mind, this deal is only for viewers in the United
States. All international fans will continue to enjoy their
WWE shows on Netflix.