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The move of WWE premium live events to ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer streaming service months ahead of the original plan, with September’s Wrestlepalooza, was surprising to many fans, especially those who needed to figure out how they were going to watch the show. In the United States, WWE now has content spread across various services like Netflix for “WWE Raw” and Peacock for “WWE NXT” PLEs. One thing fans are wondering is where they’ll be able to stream WWE’s content library and archives now, after all the various moves.Â
The question about the content library, and other original content, was posed to ESPN executives during a media call ahead of Wrestlepalooza. According to Matt Kenny, Vice President of Programming and Acquisitions, ESPN’s current PLE rights will be what they call “bankable VOD.” He couldn’t comment on WWE’s archives, however.
“When those events take place on our platforms, we’ll be able to offer those events on demand,” Kenny explained. “Our PLE library will build over time. But, in terms of the broader library, I would direct your question for the WWE to handle.”
Kenny said that, in regards to more original WWE content on ESPN, what they were able to do very quickly with their “Road to Wrestlepalooza” specials was impressive. He mentioned how “special” ESPN’s flagship show being on site at Wrestlepalooza in Indianapolis was going to be.Â
“I can’t speak to anything specifically going forward, but if you look at what we’ve done… I think it shows a lot of what’s great about ESPN,” he said. “Where we’re literally just building it as we go, all in the spirit of creating awesome content for fans and to do it with our own twist. I do think the point of SportsCenter being on site’s a really big deal, particularly on a college football Saturday.”
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