By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
WWE President Nick Khan spoke with Puck’s John Ourand regarding the new U.S. premium live event deal with ESPN. The following are among the notables of the interview that can be heard in full at Puck.news.
-Khan said there are ten premium live events each year, and WrestleMania and SummerSlam are two-night events. Khan said that while the deal could grow, it is currently for 12 premium live events per year.
-Ourand asked whether current subscribers of ESPN (via satellite or cable) would have to pay more. Khan spoke about how once you subscribe to the forthcoming ESPN app, there won’t be any upcharge for premium live events.
-Khan said the company is still in business with NBC/Peacock. He pointed to Saturday Night’s Main Event being on NBC/Peacock, and Smackdown airing on USA Network.
-Khan said WWE got lucky with the timing of their current deal with Peacock. He said the deal was struck during the pandemic. He said the Olympics were postponed for a year, so Peacock needed content.
-WWE’s majority share acquisition of AAA has not officially closed. “Once this deal, the PLE deal, is locked and loaded and up and running, then we go out into the marketplace with AAA,” Khan said.
Powell’s POV: One big question now is what happens to NXT premium live events and WWE’s classic content library. I was told recently that NXT premium live events would be separate from WWE premium live events, but I’m not sure where those shows will land. If there’s not a deal for NXT premium live events in place and waiting to be announced, one has to question the strategy of running NXT PLE’s against AEW pay-per-views, as doing so surely cut into the NXT PLE numbers, which would seem to make them less attractive. Khan was vague on the topic of whether the ESPN app will be free to those who have ESPN as part of their cable or satellite deals.
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