ESPN VP Matt Kenny Addresses WWE-ESPN PLE Deal Starting Early, Says ESPN Had Zero Contact With Peacock
The ESPN-WWE deal was scheduled to start in 2026.
WWE and ESPN reached a five-year agreement that will see WWE’s Premium Live Events airing on ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer service.
That partnership is scheduled to launch on September 20th with the Wrestlepalooza PLE from Indianapolis, Indiana. ESPN is promoting ‘wall-to-wall’ coverage of the event, and a media call took place with their executives on 9/17.
It was brought up that the deal was originally expected to start in 2026, but it is kicking off in the fall. Matt Kenny, ESPN Vice President of Programming and Acquisitions, shared that they did not have any contact with Peacock, which had the rights to WWE’s main roster PLEs.
“So, our relationship is with the WWE. We have no interaction, engagement, dialogue with the Peacock folks at all. I think what was most important for us was the opportunity to have a launch event this fall, and so we were really excited about that, and then, when it was presented to us that there was an opportunity to begin our five-year relationship early, obviously, we were excited about that as well.”
Peacock still has the rights to WWE’s NXT Premium Live Events, and their library content is still on the service. WWE’s deal with Peacock is set to expire in March 2026.
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