The WWE era on Peacock is ending sooner than expected. A new report has confirmed that WWE’s premium live events will be moving to ESPN’s new streaming platform starting next month, months earlier than the originally planned 2026 start date.
According to a new report from Bryan Alvarez, WWE will fulfill its contractual quota of events for Peacock with the Clash in Paris show on August 31st.
An Accelerated Timeline
Alvarez has confirmed that due to an expanded premium live event schedule in 2025, which included the addition of a second night for SummerSlam and the all-women’s Evolution event, WWE will have fulfilled its yearly PLE commitment to Peacock by the end of August. This paves the way for the new, lucrative partnership with ESPN to begin immediately after.
This means that the upcoming, as-yet-unannounced premium live event on Saturday, September 20th, will be the first-ever main roster WWE PLE to air on ESPN’s new platform.
A History Of WWE Streaming
This is the third major evolution of WWE’s streaming strategy in the United States. In 2014, the company launched the groundbreaking WWE Network, a revolutionary service that offered all pay-per-views for a monthly fee. In 2021, WWE licensed its US streaming rights to NBC’s Peacock in a massive billion-dollar deal.
Now, under the ownership of TKO Group Holdings, WWE is aligning itself with its sister company, the UFC, under one broadcast partner. The new five-year, $1.6 billion deal with ESPN will see all WWE PLEs move to the “Worldwide Leader in Sports,” a move designed to further integrate WWE into the mainstream sports conversation.
What It Means For The Fans
The new ESPN direct-to-consumer service is set to launch this week at a price of $29.99 per month. However, it has been reported that existing cable and satellite subscribers who already receive ESPN will likely be able to access the new WWE content at no additional cost through authentication.
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One major question that remains is the future of WWE’s vast historical archive, which is currently housed on Peacock. It is not yet known where that library of content will be hosted once the Peacock deal officially concludes.
WWE is kicking off its new ESPN era with a stacked card. The September 20th event, reportedly titled “WrestlePalooza,” is rumored to be headlined by two blockbuster matches: John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar and Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre.
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