WWE’s billion-dollar streaming deal with ESPN has fans fuming — but according to WWE President Nick Khan, this was just smart business.
Speaking on The Varsity podcast with John Ourand, Khan addressed why WWE moved its Premium Live Events off Peacock and onto ESPN’s new $29.99-per-month platform, nearly tripling the current price. For Khan, it all comes down to WWE’s elite status in the sports media economy.
“I think, look, the marketplace dictates the price on all things in my opinion. You and I have had several conversations about this both on the record and off the record.”
Khan explained that the current media rights landscape mirrors the broader U.S. economy — where premium content commands top dollar, and anything less gets left behind.
“The media rights marketplace, I think to any reasonable person looking at it, has sort of become reflective—relatively speaking, of course—of the U.S. economy, where the upper-tier products continue to go up, the premium content continues to get premium pricing, and the lower-tier content continues to sort of make its way. It’s the middle that got squeezed a bit.”
“Fortunately for WWE and our shareholders and our fans, we’re not in the middle. So it’s a significant step up. It’s a great platform for us, and to have WWE—what we consider to be the 1A sports entertainment product in the world—on the most family-friendly apparatus is big for all of us.”
While fans may be frustrated by the dramatic price hike, WWE is seeing nothing but dollar signs. The ESPN deal is worth $1.625 billion over five years — $325 million annually — nearly doubling what WWE earned annually from Peacock. It’s a huge leap in revenue, but that leap is landing right on the wallets of loyal fans.
For now, SmackDown remains on USA Network until 2029 and RAW has already jumped to Netflix. But the biggest WWE events — WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series — are going premium in price and platform starting in 2026.
WWE might not be “in the middle,” but many fans are now stuck between their love for the product and a steep monthly fee to keep up.
