WWE Execs Break Down ESPN Partnership Success & What’s Next for Streaming Strategy

WWE’s deal with ESPN is off to a strong start—and the company’s top executives are making it clear that they’re playing the long game. With WrestlePalooza and Crown Jewel: Perth already streaming through ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer platform, WWE is already looking ahead to Survivor Series: WarGames on November 29.

During the Q3 2025 TKO Holdings earnings call, WWE President Nick Khan and TKO President/COO Mark Shapiro shared new insight into how the partnership has evolved since launching in September.

Khan didn’t mince words when talking about the early rollout, saying WWE was thrilled with how ESPN promoted their first event under the new deal.

“So, by the way, we’re thrilled with the start of it. So it’s obviously a new product, it’s a new platform. If you noticed any of the promotion going into our first event with them, WrestlePalooza, which is a new event for us, which we’re really pleased with, you saw wall-to-wall coverage on all the ESPN platforms.”

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Khan mentioned ust how visible WWE became across ESPN’s biggest programs, citing a major crossover moment during ESPN’s college football coverage.

“So much so that on College GameDay, the morning of WrestlePalooza, you had the entire panel—Pat McAfee, Coach (Nick) Saban, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Rece Davis—all predicting the winner of Brock Lesnar versus John Cena. It was phenomenal.”

He added that WWE is ready to be patient as ESPN grows its direct-to-consumer platform.

“It’s gonna take time for ESPN to grow that platform the way that they wanna grow it. We’re patient. We’ll continue to put on our product the way that we think only we can do, and let’s see where we can end up.”

Shapiro followed up by praising ESPN’s promotional power and how it compares to past UFC collaborations. But he also touched on the behind-the-scenes distribution and streaming concerns that could make or break this deal long-term.

“ESPN can be one of the best marketing partners in the media space, when they strategize and get behind something. We’ve seen that firsthand with the UFC, and to Nick’s point, Wrestlepalooza was an incredible launch. Great for our brand, great exposure.”

The TKO exec also laid out a key concern: making sure ESPN’s subscribers can authenticate for free rather than pay the full $29.99 monthly subscription.

“We need to sustain that, and I think, at the same time, it’s extremely important to us, and we’re watching like everybody else, to see that if they renew a lot of their distribution partner deals, that they get the ability to authenticate for free… YouTube TV is a prime example of that.”

The next big test of the WWE-ESPN relationship will be Survivor Series: WarGames live from San Diego on Saturday, November 29 at 3:30 PM local time, exclusively on ESPN’s DTC app. If ESPN can balance massive promotion with streamlined access, WWE could become a permanent fixture in the sports media world—not just a seasonal special attraction.