The WWE and NBC Universal announced a multi-year agreement for its WWE Network to migrate over to the Peacock Network starting this March. The deal is for the WWE Network’s Exclusive U.S. Streaming Rights thus the Network will remain the same outside the U.S. According to the Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand and Wall Street Journal, the deal is set for 5 years and $1 billion.
The deal will see WWE Network (including access to the PPVs) for $4.99 per month with ads and on a premium tier for $9.99 without ads. This would include all of the other content on the Peacock Network.
This past Friday, NBC announced that it would shutter NBC Sports Network at years end with some of the content going to the Peacock Network.
The WWE Network reportedly has 1.1 million subscribers paying $9.99 per month. The subscribers have access to more than 17,000 hours of WWE Network programming including its vast library and original content made for the network.
Payout Perspective:
The deal bolsters NBCU’s new over the top streaming network with more sports content. For the WWE, it’s a win as the talks of the Network being sold were in discussions for some time now. Moving to the Peacock Network should help with garnering more interest from the younger demo. While Smackdown has seen popularity with younger fans, the notable issue on Wednesdays is that AEW scores big with the younger demo while NXT can only with the over 50 category. This move should increase some fandom with the younger demo.
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