A $1.6 billion deal between ESPN and World Wrestling Entertainment was announced on Wednesday August 6. According to the arrangement, WWE will produce a variety of premium events from ESPN, including WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, and Money in the Bank.

The new exclusive direct-to-consumer streaming service will begin operating in 2026. The service will be offered for $29.99 per month. Users will be entitled to receive all seven of ESPN’s domestic linear networks in addition to ESPN on ABC and a number of other streaming options. The WWE events had previously streamed on Peacock.

In announcing the agreement, ESPN’s chair Jimmy Pitaro was quoted as saying, “WWE has an immense, devoted and passionate fan base that we’re excited to super-serve on our new ESPN DTC platform. This agreement, which features the most significant WWE events of the year, bolsters our unprecedented content portfolio and helps drive our streaming future.”

Mark Shapiro, president and chief operating officer of TKO, added that “We are proud to reinforce the ‘E’ in ESPN at such an exciting juncture in its direct-to-consumer journey. WWE Premium Live Events are renowned for exactly the type of rich storytelling, incredible feats of athleticism and can’t-miss, cultural tentpole experiences that have become synonymous with ESPN. Through our UFC relationship, we have experienced firsthand how transformational an ESPN presence can be, and we know this will be an exceptional partnership at a time of great innovation for both companies.”

The deal was given a mixed reception on Wall Street, where stock prices for TKO Group Holdings initially declined by 3%, but Lance Vitanza, an analyst with Cowen & Co, told clients that the deal came in “better than expected” and that it “bodes well” for TKO’s current negotiations with Disney and ESPN for UFC pay-per-view rights. He expects shares to rise by about $6 as a result of the deal.

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