Through a rights deal struck with WWE, ESPN has become the domestic home for all main roster WWE premium live events, starting with WWE Wrestlepalooza back in September. Meanwhile, “WWE NXT” PLEs and WWE’s library archives — inclusive of past premium live events, weekly television programming, and ECW and WCW content — will remain on Peacock through March 2026 and the end of December 2025, respectively. While appearing at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference, TKO Chief Operating Officer Mark Shapiro provided an update on the future of the latter two elements.
“We obviously still have the NXT PLEs to sell and we have the WWE library,” Shapiro said. “What I will tell you is we haven’t gone to market yet on the NXT PLEs. We’ve got a lot on our plate right now. We want to be smart and strategic about that, and we’re in no rush. We need to be deliberate and thoughtful. But as it relates to the library, we’re working on a non-exclusive deal at the moment. I think we’ll have something to announce in Q1.”
Regarding WWE’s content library, recent reports suggest that it will soon be up for bidding, with ESPN seeming to be the frontrunner to potentially host the archives come 2026. The WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event series will stay on Peacock for the foreseeable future as a part of a new exclusive multi-year streaming agreement between WWE and Peacock. Throughout the term of this deal, the “WWE SmackDown” library will also remain on Peacock on a 30-day delay; the NBCUniversal-owned USA Network will similarly stay locked as the live exclusive home of “SmackDown” for viewers in the United States.
Deadline, the latest “NXT” PLE, emanated from San Antonio, Texas on December 6. Highlights include Oba Femi regaining the NXT Championship and Kendal Grey and Je’Von Evans emerging as the Women’s and Men’s Iron Survivors.
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