WWE is preparing to make a major shift in how its U.S. fans watch Premium Live Events starting in 2026, as company President Nick Khan has confirmed a significant media rights agreement with ESPN. Under the new deal, WWE’s marquee events, including WrestleMania, will move from Peacock to ESPN’s soon-to-launch direct-to-consumer streaming platform.

Speaking on The Varsity podcast, Khan reflected on WWE’s journey through digital distribution and offered insight into the company's next chapter.

"Look, we’re excited, John, and before we get into all the Disney hype, I do want to say how amazing of a partner Peacock has been and continues to be… We bet on peacock early. They bet on WWE early. We think the bet paid off for both sides, and here we are now today with Disney. It’s a whole new frontier for us. We’re excited about it, obviously, between Mark Shapiro, Ari Emanuel, myself, Triple H, we have extensive history with Disney. We think extremely positive history with Disney, and the opportunity to take WWE there, we think will broaden the horizons and broaden the viewership with all of our fans and new fans coming in.”

This move signals the end of WWE’s run on Peacock, which has streamed the company’s Premium Live Events since 2021. ESPN’s acquisition of WWE’s domestic live event rights is a strategic addition to its standalone streaming service, which will seek to position itself as a must-have destination for live sports and entertainment programming.

Khan also explained that ESPN’s model will follow the same format WWE used with both the WWE Network and Peacock , one flat subscription price without extra charges for major events like WrestleMania or Royal Rumble.

“Look in 2014 WWE… went off of traditional pay per view and onto its own OTT service, the WWE Network, which was 9.99 a month, there was no up charge for pay per views like WrestleMania anymore. When we did the peacock deal in 2020, same thing, no up charge for what were pay per views. Same thing here, with what has been referred to as ESPN flagship. You subscribe to that product. You get WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble, all of our other premium live events with no up charge… What Disney is getting is our biggest events domestically. In the United States, it’s 10 events, but it’s over the course of 12 nights. As I mentioned earlier, WrestleMania is a two-night event. SummerSlam is now a two-night event… It’s going to start as 10 events, but 12 nights again, with two of the events being two-nighters.”

The partnership officially kicks off in January 2026. Until then, WWE Premium Live Events will continue to be available to U.S. viewers via Peacock.