Starting in 2026, fans in the United States will have to fork out $29.99 per month if they want to watch WWE premium live events. The $29.99 per month comes out to $299.99 per year.
It has been announced WWE’s PLE’s will air on the Disney owned ESPN in the United States as part of their new direct-to-consumer streaming service, beginning with WrestleMania 42.
According to the Wall Street Journal, and CNBC, the new deal between WWE and Disney is said to be worth $1.6 billion over five years, which comes out to $325 million per year. There was no mention, however if this officially includes WWE’s video library.
The new agreement between WWE and NBCUniversal began back in March 2021 and included WWE PLE events and the video library for United States subscribers.
According to the WSJ, “people familiar with the pact” said that deal between WWE and Peacock was only worth $900 million.
The WSJ and CNBC note that SmackDown is not leaving the USA Network and replays of episodes will still be available on Peacock. In addition, CNBC indicates select WWE events will air on ESPN’s linear networks.
The official announcement from ESPN can be read below:
ESPN joins with WWE; to stream WrestleMania beginning in 2026
WrestleMania will be part of ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer streaming service starting in 2026 thanks to an agreement between World Wrestling Entertainment and ESPN.
The deal, announced Wednesday, includes two-night events such as WrestleMania and SummerSlam, plus other WWE premium live events including Royal Rumble, Survivor Series and Money in the Bank. WWE will produce the events for ESPN platforms, which will serve as their exclusive U.S. domestic home.
“WWE has an immense, devoted and passionate fan base that we’re excited to super-serve on our new ESPN DTC platform,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said. “This agreement, which features the most significant WWE events of the year, bolsters our unprecedented content portfolio and helps drive our streaming future.”
