WWE Network Heads to Peacock, Helping Grow Streamer's Base

Beginning March 18, professional wrestling programming cornerstones like WrestleMania will migrate from the over-the-top premium network WWE Network to NBCUniversal’s fledgling streaming service, Peacock. As part of a landmark multi-year licensing deal, NBCUniversal will bring 17,000 hours of WWE Network’s programming, including back-catalogue content, original series, in-ring shows, documentaries and pay-per-view events, to Peacock’s premium ad-supported and ad-free tiers. In turn, WWE Network will shut down its own over-the-top service, which currently has 1.2 million subscribers in the U.S., and will migrate its customers over to Peacock. The financial terms or the exact length of the partnership were not disclosed, but The Wall Street Journal reported that the deal, worth more than $1 billion, would run for five years. “WWE has always tapped into the cultural zeitgeist with spectacular live events and larger-than-life characters, and we are thrilled to be the exclusive home for WWE Network and its millions of fans across the country,” Rick Cordella, Peacock’s evp and chief revenue officer, said in a statement. “WWE Network is a transformative addition to the platform and complements Peacock’s massive catalog of iconic movies and shows, as well as the best live news and sports from NBCUniversal and beyond.” This deal is separate from the WWE's three weekly wrestling shows: WWE Friday Night SmackDown, which airs on Fox; and WWE Raw and WWE NXT, which are both on USA Network. Peacock spreads its wings Adding WWE programming onto Peacock marks a considerable programming and potential audience expansion for the streaming service, which debuted nationwide in July with three tiers: free for limited ad-supported content, $4.99 for premium programming with ads, and $9.99 for all-access and no ads. (Many pay TV customers have access to higher tiers at a discount through various distribution deals and partnerships.) More than 26 million people have signed up for Peacock, but the company has not yet revealed the kind of paid subscribers it has so far managed to attract. A selection of WWE Network programming will be available on Peacock’s ad-free tier, but most will remain behind the service’s paywall. For WWE Network’s 1.2 million subscribers, there’s an attractive price incentive to move over to the service: Peacock’s premium ad-supported tier costs most customers just $4.99, $5 less than the $9.99 it presently costs to access WWE Network. “WWE was one of the first to launch a SVOD service, WWE Network, in 2014 to super-serve our most passionate fans with WWE’s most premium content as well as an incredible library of in-ring and original programming that has grown over the last seven years,” WWE chief brand officer Stephanie McMahon said in a statement about the deal. “Since launching last year, Peacock has amassed an incredible catalog of iconic movies and TV shows, along with the best of live news and sports, to which WWE Network will be a perfect complement.” The addition of professional wrestling adds to Peacock’s growing sports programming catalogue, which have performed particularly well on the service, NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell has previously said. On Friday, NBCUniversal announced it would shut down cable network NBCSN and will move its sports programming to Peacock and to its sister cable channel USA Network.

Streaming & OTT

WWE Network Heads to Peacock as NBCU Looks to Bulk Up Streaming Subscriptions

The OTT service's 1.2 million base will migrate in March

Kelsey Sutton

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Kelsey Sutton