According to a report from The New York Post, the negotiation window for WWE television rights has closed for FOX and NBCUniversal, allowing WWE to consider offers from other potential suitors. The exclusive negotiating period began in April during WrestleMania weekend. WWE President Nick Khan had previously mentioned that the window had closed for FOX, while NBCU still had some time remaining.
Although FOX and NBCU are still seen as the frontrunners to retain the rights to WWE programming, Disney has reportedly expressed interest as well. However, Disney’s preference is to have the programming on FX rather than ESPN, as scheduling conflicts with sports events could hinder their ability to guarantee a specific night for WWE programming. Another interested party is Amazon Prime Video, which already has a deal with the NFL for Thursday night games and is also bidding for the Big Ten conference in college football.
Apple and Warner Bros. Discovery are being considered as “dark horse” contenders, given their past interest in sports, particularly the NBA. It should be noted that Warner Bros. Discovery is not obligated to remain exclusive to AEW and could potentially pursue both WWE and AEW rights, although this scenario is unlikely.
Currently, WWE has five-year deals with NBCU, worth $265 million annually, for RAW and FOX, worth $205 million annually, for SmackDown. Both of these deals are set to expire in October 2024. WWE President Nick Khan is aiming to secure a rights increase of around 1.5 times the current value in the upcoming negotiations.
