Speaking on The Ringer’s Press Box podcast, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Piatro was asked about the recently-announced deal bringing WWE premium live events to their direct-to-consumer platform in 2026.
Speaking on where these events would fit into the calendar of programming, Piatro said:
Without commenting on the financials of the deal, one of the things that we are focused on from a direct-to-consumer perspective is churn, and minimizing churn. When we first started to look at these premium-level events, we immediately thought of the calendar and the fact that these events could help us plug in some holes and gaps we might have in our schedule, and thereby minimize churn.
The deal, which begins with WrestleMania 42 coming to the platform, comes after the current deal with Peacock comes to an end in March.
In the conversation it was noted that WWE’s hot period (January-August) coincides with the NFL offseason, to which the Chairman added:
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.
Source: Fightful