Disney Reportedly Contender For WWE’s Broadcast Rights

WWE’s broadcast deals with NBC Universal and FOX expire in 2024, and the company has been exploring all options.

Media experts predict NBC Universal and FOX will renew their deals with WWE, but the question is how much of an increase the new deal will be.

WWE CEO Nick Khan last month foresaw an increase of 1.5 times its current U.S. rights deal, per Indie Wire’s Tony Maglio. Khan also confirmed FOX’s exclusive renegotiation window expired and opened the door for “SmackDown” moving off Friday nights if the show moves to a different network.

The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand revealed WWE’s exclusive renegotiation window with NBC Universal expired Monday, and FX, through its parent company Disney, has emerged as a contender for those rights.

Marchand added Amazon Prime also is a contender, but he believed there wouldn’t be a network change for “RAW” or “SmackDown,” per Post Wrestling’s John Pollock.

FX would be the potential home for “RAW” because it’s unlikely ESPN would open up a night or time slot to replace its other programming, according to Marchand, per Pollock.

If “RAW” were to move off the USA Network to FX, NBC Universal still has streaming rights for the WWE Network on Peacock until March 2026. If FOX were to lose “SmackDown,” it would leave a huge hole for the network in its Friday primetime programming, which has brought in solid ratings.

A move to FX would be interesting with WWE’s merger with UFC’s parent company, Endeavor. ESPN owns the broadcast rights to UFC’s programming through 2025, and it would benefit all parties to have their broadcast rights under the Disney umbrella.

WWE has touted its growth and popularity in recent years, which has been seen through its events in Puerto Rico and Saudi Arabia last month. It has premium live events planned at The 02 Arena in London in July and Ford Field in Detroit in August.

Khan and the company likely will use WWE’s growing popularity around the world and its ability to host events in large arenas as an appeal to networks.

Most fans likely won’t notice the larger effects of broadcast deals on-screen, but the increased influx of revenue could see WWE strive for bigger ventures.