Only one-year into ESPN’s five-year deal to air World Wrestling Entertainment events on its Unlimited app, the network won’t be renewing the contract when it expires.
Multiple sources told SEScoops the deal faced multiple problems, including the current media market, “culture and synergy” issues between the two companies and the failure of cable providers to pick up the cost of the app for customers.
ESPN and WWE reached a five-year, $1.6 billion deal in 2025 to air “premium live events” on its new app, which launched a year ago.
The deal between WWE and ESPN came together at the executive level at Disney and TKO, sources told SEScoops when the deal was announced last year.
One source said there were virtually no discussions between the two companies when the app was launched and WWE PLEs began airing on the app. This changed recently with ESPN promoting WWE content and making the PLEs available on lesser tiers and airing the first hour of shows on linear networks, but much to the chagrin of sports fans. Awful Announcing reported last week that there had been more WWE discussion on the main ESPN network’s three morning show than Major League Baseball and the NHL, which received major backlash on social media and from media publications.
On Monday, Sports Media Watch reported the price of the app will rise next month for both its monthly and annual rates. The price of the app through the Hulu and Disney+ bundle was changed as of last week, according to Sara Fischer at Axios. Around four-of-five ESPN Unlimited subscribers get the app through the bundle.
Disney saw the Unlimted app as a way to regain carriage fee losses as fewer people purchased cable packages.
WWE PLEs were viewed by Disney executives as an extra incentive for providers to make deals for the app to offer to customers. Since then, the PLEs have become more available to customers.
WIthout providers picking up the app, it’s been on ESPN to sell it direct to customers, something it never considered when it was rolled out. Nearly all press releases from ESPH when the app was released said it would be available from cable providers, and mentioned it’s on-own cost as only a detail.
When asked if anything could save the deal, one source said a massive increase in subscriptions or provieders picking up the app at a deal friendly to ESPN.
