ESPN y WWE firmaron un acuerdo de derechos que convertirá a las plataformas de ESPN, incluido su próximo servicio de streaming directo al consumidor (DTC), en la sede exclusiva en Estados Unidos de todos los eventos premium en vivo (PLE) de la compañía de lucha libre, a partir de 2026. Entre estos se incluyen WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series y Money in the Bank, todos producidos por WWE.
El contrato contempla que cada PLE se transmita íntegramente en el servicio DTC de ESPN, con selectas emisiones simultáneas en canales lineales de la cadena.
Jimmy Pitaro, presidente de ESPN comentó:
WWE has an immense, devoted and passionate fanbase that we’re excited to super-serve on our new ESPN DTC platform. This agreement, which features the most-significant WWE events of the year, bolsters our unprecedented content portfolio and helps drive our streaming future.
Mark Shapiro, presidente y director de operaciones de TKO mencionó:
We are proud to reinforce the “E” in ESPN at such an exciting juncture in its direct-to-consumer journey. WWE Premium Live Events are renowned for exactly the type of rich storytelling, incredible feats of athleticism and can’t-miss, cultural tentpole experiences that have become synonymous with ESPN. Through our UFC relationship, we have experienced firsthand how transformational an ESPN presence can be, and we know this will be an exceptional partnership at a time of great innovation for both companies.
Además de las transmisiones principales, ESPN tendrá la posibilidad de emitir programas previos y posteriores a los PLE.
