A new report from Wrestlenomics has shed some light on the contracts drawn up for WWE’s media rights deals with NBCUniversal and Fox, which were made public in connection to the ongoing WWE merger shareholder lawsuit in Delaware’s Court of Chancery.
The contracts detail rights granted to NBCUniversal and Fox from late 2019 to late 2024, with WWE being paid $265 million per year for Raw and $205 million per year for SmackDown respectively.
These deals also confirm exclusivity clauses previously reported on, prohibiting WWE’s broadcast partners form airing other pro wrestling programs, which became a point of discussion when MLW filed an antitrust lawsuit in 2023.
WWE’s deal with NBCUniversal saw the latter hold consultation rights on production and creative elements, with WWE retaining final creative and editorial control over Raw; despite this, WWE was disallowed from making material changes to the basic concept and format of the program without the approval of NBCU.
In addition to a similar deal as above, the contract with Fox contains language that aims to protect Fox’s relationship with sports properties; WWE was required to discuss any content that could have an adverse effect on such relationships with Fox before including it on a program.
Other details included in the contracts speak to crossover opportunities, ancillary content, and re-air rights and clips uploaded to YouTube.