ESPN will start its long-awaited new streaming service on August 21 at a price of $ 29.99 per month, improving with WWE events and the extended NFL rights.
The Disney Sports Division made the announcements when the company reported its quarterly profit on Wednesday morning. The movements follow the confirmation of a pioneering deal between the NFL and ESPN, in which the league takes over a 10% ESPN participation in exchange for the control of the NFL network and other NFL media properties.
The live events of the WWE, including marquee titles such as Wrestlemania and Summerslam, will go to NBCUNIERSAL's Peacock from 2026 after five years after ESPN platforms.
The NFL design, a main support on ESPN, which has grown into a large audience in recent years, has also received a long-term extension from the partners.
Regardless of this, ESPN and the NFL have made an agreement that includes the DTC service from ESPN and Disney+. The agreement contains rights for additional NFL content for ESPN and interactive functions. The new streaming service from ESPN will also be selected in seasons 2025 and 2026 selected NFL pre-season games. ESPN will also sell and bundle NFL+ Premium, the DTC service of the league, which was launched in 2022 with the DTC service of ESPN, with which fans have the opportunity to see NFL Network and NFL Redzone via NFL+ Premium.
Jimmy Pitaro, chairman of ESPN, welcomed the “immense, committed and passionate fan base” of the WWE and said that she would drive with Premium -Live event from the wrestling route “Our Streaming future”.
Mark Shapiro, President and Chief Operating Officer of WWE Parent TKO Group Holdings, said “An exciting point” in ESPN's streaming rollout. WWE Fare, he added, was “exactly the kind of rich storytelling, incredible actions of sportiness and non-abbreviation, cultural tent polish experiences that have become synonymous for ESPN.”
Thanks to a UFC right-wing contract, ESPN and TKO have a year-long relationship.