ESPN has issued a statement denying rumors that the company has already decided not to renew its WWE PLE deal when it expires in 2030.
A report from BJ Bethel of SEScoops on Tuesday stated that ESPN “won’t be renewing the [WWE PLE] contract when it expires.” However, our Josh Nason was told by someone in the know that the claim was baseless.
ESPN later issued the following statement to us calling the report “completely false.”
Statement from ESPN —
There is no truth to the report that we have decided not to renew. They never checked with us before publishing and had they, we would have told them that was completely false.
This deal (worth a reported $1.6 billion in total over the five years) between WWE and ESPN began in 2025 and is now approaching its one-year anniversary. WWE’s first PLE broadcast on ESPN was Wrestlepalooza on September 20 of last year. The WWE events stream on ESPN’s app for Unlimited subscribers and often include a simulcast where the first hour airs on ESPN or ESPN2, though that did not happen for SummerSlam.
To promote the PLEs, WWE talent make frequent appearances on ESPN programming during the week of the event. WWE and ESPN also partnered together for a Danhausen-themed ice cream truck that was in Minneapolis during SummerSlam week.
Bethel’s original report pointed to “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” as reasons why ESPN was allegedly not renewing the WWE deal. It did say that a “massive increase in subscriptions” over the next few years or cable providers carrying ESPN Unlimited at friendly financial terms could result in ESPN changing course.
ESPN Unlimited recently became available to YouTube TV subscribers at no additional cost.
Joseph Currier
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated’s wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.