Summary
- ESPN is interested in owning WWE’s archival footage, along with airing events.
- Once the deal with Peacock ends, archival footage may go to WWE’s Vault YouTube channels.
- ESPN chairman expects WWE President Nick Khan to help fill programming gaps.
It appears that ESPN isn’t just interested in WWE’s new Premium Live Events, but would like to own the archival footage, too. ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro expressed interest in the content rights during an interview with The Ringer’s Press Box podcast.
What Jimmy Pitaro Said About WWE
The chairman revealed that ESPN will have archival rights for the events that they air, but for the rest of the library, they would like to acquire it. He said:
“We’re always interested in content of that quality. We will have the archival rights for the events that we are airing. In terms of their library, we certainly would be interested if and when those rights are available.” (h/t: Fightful)
As reported earlier, once WWE’s deal is over with Peacock, the vast collection of archival footage could go to WWE’s Vault YouTube channels. It was Fightful Select, who last week exclusively shared that WWE has an “advanced deal with Google because of their YouTube presence.” It’ll be interesting to see what exactly happens until then.
In the interview, Pitaro also spoke about scheduling these WWE PLEs and how it would help with gaps in programming, like when the NFL is in its offseason. He believes that WWE President Nick Khan will be hands-on at helping with filling those gaps. He said:
The executives at WWE have been very clear with us that they are willing to work with us in terms of scheduling. They are producing these events, but I would expect that if I call Nick Khan and say, ‘Hey, can you work with me, we have a particular gap here in our schedule,’ I expect he will. I would emphasize the word premium. The fact that we’re getting WrestleMania for our direct-to-consumer platform is incredibly exciting for us.”
Pitaro was first president of ESPN in March 2018, before being promoted to Chairman in February 2023.
Recap Of The Landmark Deal
It was on August 6 when ESPN and WWE announced that WWE PLEs such as WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble, etc., were leaving Peacock in 2026 and going to air on ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer (DTC) service. For exclusive rights for the next five years, ESPN will pay $325 million a year.
Not only that, but the price has changed for WWE fans. Instead of paying around $10.99 a month to watch WWE events, the ESPN deal will have fans paying $29.99 a month. Though there is one way for fans to get it for free. Those who are subscribed to ESPN via any traditional TV provider just have to sign into the ESPN app, and then they will have full access to everything available, including the WWE PLEs. The new ESPN streaming service is set to debut on August 21.
