It seems like the end of an era for WWE, as the Nick Khan- and TKO-led company is reportedly looking to make a major shakeup after half a decade over a broadcast deal.
That deal is the 5-year, $1-billion agreement WWE signed with Peacock for exclusive rights to the Premium Live Events, as well as an archive of the company’s historic content. This report comes from Fightful Select, which gave huge details on the end of an era. The report revealed that there hadn’t been a new deal for the library of content it hosted, and as a result, the sports entertainment giant was exploring its options. The belief is that much of the content will be uploaded slowly to YouTube, where the company has a massive following and a supposedly “favorable deal” with Google, as they are a top-performing channel.
Fightful Select further noted that WWE is working to secure a non-exclusive host, but that YouTube is a part of their plans. However, don’t expect a mass release of content on YouTube, as the company is likely to do so only with a partner with whom it can reach an agreement. As for NXT PLEs and Saturday Night’s Main Events, they will remain on Peacock.
WWE no longer has a tab on Peacock. These are the results when you type in WWE NXT, NXT, and WWE pic.twitter.com/6M5Qge4utB
— Cory of Bodyslam.net (@Cory_Hays407) January 1, 2026
What lies ahead for WWE’s attempt at another gargantuan media deal?
Media rights deals in sports, and by extension, WWE, have been seeing an uptick for well over half a decade now. While not as lucrative as giants such as the NFL in the US and the Premier League in the UK, the fact is that broadcasting rights deals are now part and parcel of the company’s business model, making up a sizeable chunk of its revenue.
This is why TKO repeatedly mentioned that UFC’s pay-per-view model was outdated, going on to secure a $1 billion+ per year deal with Paramount. For their flagship wrestling company, ESPN presents a new home, or a relatively new one anyway, as the deal kicked off at Wrestlepalooza this past September. It’s going to be interesting to see how things play out, as the company has strategically shifted from Peacock to ESPN in an attempt to secure more legitimacy and a high-profile sports platform.
What is notable is that TKO and ESPN were on shaky terms over the previous UFC deal, which ended when the aforementioned Paramount+ deal was signed. It was well known that ESPN didn’t make enough money to recoup the upfront costs they paid the UFC for each pay-per-view. It looks like the legacy sports brand is giving it another shot, this time hoping to bring in the diverse WWE fanbase, and that it translates into subscriptions.
There has been talk for a while now of this media rights bubble bursting. While the numbers suggest it could happen across different sports, the sports entertainment juggernaut seems to be experiencing a different reality.
With a little under five years left on their $1.6 billion deal with ESPN, and nine years left on their gargantuan $5 billion Netflix deal, the company only seems to be falling upward. If any bubble bursts, they have made sure to secure themselves for a few years longer. What happens after that, only time will tell.
