NBCUniversal’s Peacock will soon be the only place to watch WWE Network in the USA
WWE and NBCU reached a multi-year agreement giving Peacock exclusive streaming rights to the WWE Network for American viewers. Existing subscribers of the exaggerated wrestling entertainment service in the U.S. (about 1.1 million in total) will be migrated to Peacock Premium, where they will continue to have access to the WWE Network, but will pay 50% less per month while having full access for the Peacock Premium level version with ads.
Peacock will launch the WWE Network on March 18, 2021, when Peacock will begin launching more than 17,000 hours of WWE Network new, original and library programming (both on demand and on a new 24-hour channel).
The NBCU streamer will have all of the live WWE events – at no extra cost – including WrestleMania and SummerSlam, with Fastlane being the first event to be broadcast on Peacock on Sunday, March 21. (WWE fans who prefer to request events via pay-per-traditional view will still have this option.)
WWE Network will be available on Peacock Premium (which includes ads) for $ 4.99 per month, half the current price of $ 9.99 / month on the WWE Network. The non-commercial Peacock Premium Plus plan, which costs $ 9.99 / month, will also include the WWE Network.
The companies plan to share details of how WWE subscribers in the United States will be transferred to Peacock (for example, whether they will be automatically signed up by Peacock) in the coming weeks. Nothing will change for WWE Network subscribers outside the US
The financial terms of the Peacock-WWE Network pact were not disclosed. “We feel very good about finances. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have closed the deal, ”said Nick Khan, president of WWE and chief revenue officer, who joined the company last August from CAA. “Having WrestleMania in particular – which is our Super Bowl – available [for no extra cost] on Peacock it is very different from other models that you are seeing. “
For Peacock, the WWE Network is “a transformative addition,” said Rick Cordella, Peacock’s EVP and chief revenue officer. “We have a lot of data that shows live events and sports that generate a lot of user acquisition,” he said. “The bet is that there is a much larger total available public [for WWE programming] than on the WWE Network today. “
NBCU and WWE have been partners for almost 30 years, starting in 1993 with “Monday Night Raw” in the USA. “WWE has always taken advantage of the cultural zeitgeist with spectacular live events and larger-than-life characters, and we are thrilled to be the exclusive home of the WWE Network and its millions of fans across the country,” said Cordella.
In the third quarter of 2020, the WWE Network had an average paid subscriber of 1.6 million, a decrease of about 60,000 compared to the previous quarter, but an increase of 6% year on year – marking the service’s first annual growth since the first quarter of 2019. The entertainment company originally launched the WWE Network in February 2014, when it closed its traditional pay-per-view event business.
Starting in 2022, WWE will produce “a yearly subscription documentary” for the WWE Network at Peacock. Also available on the WWE Network are about 100 hours of original series like “Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions,” “Undertaker: The Last Ride” and the recent debut “WWE Icons”; in-ring shows like NXT, NXT UK and WWE 205 Live, as well as replays of “Raw” and “SmackDown”; WWE Network archives, including all WWE, WCW and ECW pay-per-view events in history; and documentaries including “WWE 24,” “WWE Untold” and “WWE 365.”
Peacock, which NBCU launched nationwide in July 2020, attracted nearly 22 million user “subscriptions” in its first six months of launch, according to the company. Qualified customers of Comcast Xfinity X1 and Flex and Cox’s Contour – a total of around 24 million households – have Peacock Premium included at no additional cost.
Peacock’s content programming includes a list of originals, libraries of TV shows – including all episodes of “The Office” and “Yellowstone” – and films from Universal Pictures, Focus Features, DreamWorks Animation, Illumination and other studios. In addition, the OTT service offers news, sports, dawn, in Spanish and reality from across NBCUniversal.
Peacock Premium now offers more than 47,000 hours of programming. NBCU also offers a free version of Peacock with advertising and reduced content.
Photo above: WWE Superstar Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 36