ESPN to Expand WWE Coverage After Initial Partnership Rollout

WWE and ESPN officially kicked off their new partnership with WrestlePalooza on September 20, and fans were quick to notice WWE Superstars flooding ESPN airwaves in the days leading up to the show. But what’s next? Will SportsCenter regularly cover WWE like it does traditional sports?

According to ESPN President of Content Burke Magnus, the answer is yes—eventually.

Speaking to Richard Deitsch on the Sports Media podcast, Magnus explained that ESPN is currently navigating how WWE coverage will evolve now that the deal is active. For now, the network’s focus has been launching the partnership and building awareness around WrestlePalooza.

“It’s a really active conversation. What we’re seeing today is launch-oriented. We’ve had superstars on our shows. Triple H has been on a variety of shows. Everything, though, has been presented in the context of the new partnership and WrestlePalooza.”

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As the relationship moves past the initial rollout, ESPN is working through the long-term game plan for covering WWE content across its platforms. While Magnus didn’t give exact details, he made it clear that WWE has a place within ESPN’s ecosystem—even if the presentation is different.

“When it flips from being (less) about the awareness of the new rights agreements and new partnership, how do we handle coverage of the WWE across our platforms? That is a really active conversation right now.”

He added that ESPN respects the entertainment side of WWE, even if the matches are scripted.

“It’s unequivocally entertainment and part of sports and athletic and what we do in every way, other than the storylines are scripted, and it’s presented that way and everybody knows that. There is a full appreciation at ESPN of how compelling their content is from an entertainment perspective.”

So while ESPN isn’t ready to reveal the full rollout plan, the commitment is there—and WWE coverage beyond just promos and PLE build-up is definitely on the table.