A while back, ESPN would have been a strange partner for WWE since it took care to distance itself from the scripted nature of pro wrestling. Not so these days, as the cable network routinely covers big WWE events and has talent on its shows ahead of WrestleMania or SummerSlam.
So with the media rights for Raw and SmackDown still open to bids from interested parties, could ESPN work its way into the mix as a partner for WWE? Probably not, according to ESPN President of Content Burke Magnus, who discussed that scenario on Sports Media with Richard Deitsch.
It wouldn’t be out of reluctance, but simply that the network has the rights to so many sports that it wouldn’t be able to set aside any night specifically for a WWE weekly show. But streaming, or something specifically for digital, would be a different story (h/t Post Wrestling for the transcription).
52 weeks a year is impossible for us to do on almost any configuration based on the other rights that we have. So that actually cuts against us from a linear perspective but on the digital side, if we were to be in business with them on a streaming or direct-to-consumer or distribution or a pay-per-view distribution or other such thing, I think that’s more easily achievable and they have a great product…
Magnus also noted that there is “tremendous overlap” between WWE fans and ESPN viewers, which is almost certainly the case.
WWE’s current streaming deal for premium live events and ancillary programming in the U.S. is with Peacock and runs through 2026. However, UFC streams its pay-per-views and other shows via ESPN, and with the impending deal to merge WWE and UFC into one publicly traded company — a transaction expected to close later this year — there has been some discussion of whether both promotions would look to consolidate their streaming efforts with a single partner.
Could that be ESPN? A lot can change in the content distribution space very quickly, making 2026 a long way away in that regard. But it certainly sounds like there’s interest there if WWE wanted to pursue it.