ESPN paying $325M per year for WWE rights, WSJ reports

Disney’s (DIS) ESPN and TKO Group’s (TKO) World Wrestling Entertainment announced five year deal, which will begin in 2026, has ESPN paying $325M per year, Isabella Simonetti and Joe Flint of Wall Street Journal report, citing people familiar with the matter. WWE’s current five-year deal with Peacock was valued at $900M, significantly below the $1.6B deal with ESPN, people familiar with the pact told the Journal. Shares of TKO are up 2%, or $4.05, to $167.50 in premarket trading.