ESPN’s WWE Deal Draws Backlash Over Pricing And Access Confusion

This week, ESPN announced an agreement with WWE to air its premium live events (PLEs) exclusively on its upcoming $29.99-per-month direct-to-consumer (DTC) service, starting in 2026. However, not everyone will have to pay for the PLEs on ESPN DTC. It's just not clear exactly who that includes.

Previously, Disney stated that those who subscribe to ESPN through a traditional cable or satellite package would have access to the DTC service at no additional cost. Yet ESPN made no mention of those details when announcing its agreement with WWE.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 19: Roman Reigns makes his entrance during WrestleMania 41 Saturday at Allegiant Stadium on April 19, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Rich Freeda/WWE via Getty Images)

Still, sources say the subscribers of the following providers will receive access to WWE PLEs at no extra cost: DirecTV, Hulu Live, Charter, FuboTV, and Verizon Fios.

What does that mean for subscribers of YouTube TV, Dish Network, and Comcast? As of now, they'd have to pay the full price to stream WWE content on ESPN.

"So @espn announced a WWE product today with almost zero explanation of the details and customers now may or may not get it with ESPN," Clay Travis wrote on X. "I have Comcast. Somehow I wouldn’t get WWE events. Neither would YouTube customers. But some of you might. No way this holds up. Total mess."
 

Questions Surround ESPN, WWE Deal

Fortunately for fans, WWE PLEs won’t make the move from Peacock to ESPN’s DTC platform until 2026—giving ESPN time to iron out additional carriage agreements with providers. For WWE’s sake, making those deals should be a top priority.

After all, WWE fans likely aren’t going to subscribe to ESPN’s new service for its other content. In fact, the WWE PLEs are the only exclusive programming announced for the platform so far.

And while WWE is more popular now than it has been at any point since the late 1990s, $29.99 is a lot. For context, WWE fans have paid between $1.99 and $9.99 to PLEs on Peacock since 2021.

Put simply, events like WrestleMania are likely to reach far fewer viewers than in past years if ESPN excludes existing YouTube TV and Comcast subscribers.

More broadly, wrestling promotions ought to be mindful of the rising cost of fandom. Earlier this week, we reported that it would cost nearly $700 for all the streaming services required to watch the NFL this season. 

Wrestling fans, however, face an even steeper price.

To stream every WWE and AEW event in 2026, fans will need to pay for ESPN, Netflix, Peacock, HBO Max, and AEW pay-per-views—totaling $1,186 (H/T: New York Post reporter Joseph Staszewski).

Brutal.

Related: WWE's $1.6 Billion Deal With ESPN Completes Pro Wrestling's Entry Into The Mainstream