WWE President Nick Khan said that WWE’s deal with ESPN calls for 10 premium live events per year over 12 nights, saying that WrestleMania and SummerSlam will remain a two-night affair moving forward.
Speaking with John Ourand of Puck News, Khan said that Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, Money In The Bank, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series are a lock, with other five premium live events up for grabs.
He did mention that the amount of shows could eventually grow. WWE will have 11 premium live events this year, without taking into account the NXT shows.
Khan noted that there were interest from other companies on this particular WWE media rights package but the timing with ESPN made sense this time around. He never revealed if Peacock tried to retain the package.
Khan also said that they made the deal quicker than the NFL, which just a few days ago announced they are acquiring a 10% stake in the company in return of handing over several NFL-related media rights to the Disney-owned ESPN.
Meanwhile, both Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns did appearances on ESPN today to talk about the new deal and WWE in general.
Colin Vassallo has been editor of Wrestling-Online since 1996