WWE’s CEO Nick Khan has a strong relationship with Pitaro and ESPN president of content, Burke Magnus, while Endeavor’s leaders, Ari Emmanuel and Mark Shapiro, already have a bond with ESPN over its UFC deal. This is important because WWE recently joined forces with Endeavor. The potential Disney-WWE partnership makes some sense due to connections, as well.ĮSPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro leads sports acquisitions for Disney. ESPN+ was in on the last WWE streaming rights negotiations.Īs for TV, the audience WWE draws could be a boon for FX, which has had to manage around the growing reality that scripted programs largely continue to migrate to streaming and commercial-free TV. When Peacock’s streaming deal is up, though, ESPN+ could be a contender again.

It has too many game commitments, so it can’t just say Mondays are for WWE.įurthermore, ESPN is a sports network, while I would describe wrestling as athletic entertainment. Let’s provide some context on the contenders:ĭisney/FX: The reason FX makes more sense than ESPN is ESPN can’t guarantee a night of the week to WWE. Netflix is always mentioned in these types of stories, but shouldn’t be until they show any willingness to spend big on these sorts of deals. CBS is not expected to be in on WWE rights. Discovery and Apple as dark horse candidates. Who else could have big interest: Besides FX, the biggest new player could be Amazon Prime Video. With its broadcast rights now available to every network, WWE’s year-round schedule and strong audience numbers are expected to draw interest from Disney and Amazon. Last week on USAN, “Raw” had 1.828M viewers. Last week, Fox picked up 2.563 million viewers (955K were 18-49) for Friday night. Numbers: WWE is 52 weeks a year, and it draws. What about streaming? Peacock’s five-year, $1 billion WWE streaming deal is not in play for this round, as it is not up until March 2026, right before WrestleMania 42. Let’s take a closer look at what, and who, is in play… The potential cable placement would not be ESPN, but rather FX. It is still early in the process, but one party that does have interest in adding the WWE is Disney, according to sources. Comcast pays $265 million per year to put “Monday Night Raw” on USA Network, while Fox doles out $205 million per year for “Friday Night Smackdown.” These contracts run until Oct. However, to quote the Million Dollar Man, Ted DiBiase, “Everybody’s got a price.” We would maintain at this point that Fox, with “Friday Night Smackdown,” and USA, with “Monday Night Raw,” remain most likely to re-up that is usually the common thought at these points in deals that have been wins for both sides. This is not surprising, because most major deals go to the open market, even if the incumbents remain the favorites. News: The WWE has finished its exclusive negotiating window with Fox and Comcast/USA Network without a new deal, The Post has learned.

Current wwe roster 2022