Actor and former WWE writer Freddie Prinze Jr. has shared some insight into how ESPN is feeling about its current broadcast deal with WWE. Speaking on Wrestling with Freddie, he said a friend inside The Walt Disney Company told him the network is far from thrilled with how things are going so far.
While recapping Survivor Series: WarGames, Prinze Jr. shifted to the business side and shared what he had been told about ESPN’s internal reaction.
“ESPN, by the way, so unhappy with the deal,” Prinze Jr. said. He added that Disney is feeling the financial pressure around the agreement. “I was talking to a friend of mine who works for Disney, and he was just like, ‘Yo, they better make their money back on this deal.’ He just said, ‘They’re hot.’”
WWE’s move to ESPN became official in August, shifting all premium live events to the network under a reported $1.6 billion, five-year deal starting with September’s WrestlePalooza show. Their most recent outing was the aforementioned WWE Survivor Series: WarGames event.
