WWE’s premium live events could be shifting from Peacock to ESPN platforms as early as next month, a move that would significantly accelerate the timeline for the companies’ new partnership. The unannounced September 20 premium live event, reportedly headlined by John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar, is rumored to be the first to air on ESPN.
During a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Bryan Alvarez addressed the potential for an early start to the rights deal. “I’m hearing we may have ESPN going forward,” Alvarez stated. He suggested that WWE may have already fulfilled its contractual obligations with its current U.S. broadcast partner, Peacock.
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“I was kind of given the impression that the way it worked with Peacock was they were contracted to X number of events and they’ve added events because there’s a second night of SummerSlam, they added the Evolution show,” Alvarez explained. “So they may have met the quota.” If the required number of events has been delivered, WWE would be free to transition its PLEs to ESPN before the Peacock deal’s official expiration in March 2026.
The speculation follows the official announcement on August 6, 2025, that ESPN will become the exclusive domestic home for all WWE Premium Live Events starting in 2026. The landmark five-year agreement is valued at an average of $325 million annually, a significant increase from the estimated $200 million per year deal with Peacock.
The agreement includes all of WWE’s major shows, such as the two-night WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, and Money in the Bank. These events are slated to be available on ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer streaming service, which is scheduled to launch in the fall of 2025. The deal also includes provisions for select PLEs to be simulcast on ESPN’s linear television networks.
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