WWE will make its debut on ESPN this Saturday with Wrestlepalooza, kicking off their $1.625 billion deal to have all WWE Premium Live Events on the new ESPN app.
ESPN executives held a media call to discuss the launch, and you can check out some notes from the ongoing media call below:
* ESPN executive Matt Kenny was asked about the status of the WWE library. Kenny noted that ESPN does not currently have plans to add the WWE library as they are focusing on live events.
* Kenny was asked by Sean Ross Sapp about WWE Wrestlepalooza counter-programming AEW All Out. He said ESPN works with WWE on scheduling, and that their focus was on launching WWE on the ESPN app with a big event in September. He also added that they welcome competition, and that they will face competition from college football on Saturday.
* ESPN executive JT Lasker pushed that fans will be able to watch college football games at the same time as WWE Wrestlepalooza on the ESPN DTC app through the multi-view function.
* Kenny put over how big a deal it is that SportsCenter will be at Wrestlepalooza, but would not commit to ESPN doing a WWE-focused debate-style show.
* ESPN said to Mike Johnson that they had no direct engagement with NBCU/Peacock about moving WWE PLEs earlier.
* Jon Alba asked about Brock Lesnar’s involvement on the show. ESPN executives made clear that WWE has complete creative control over their product, and that who appears on the show is their jurisdiction.
* There is a “minimum threshold” on how much of a WWE PLE they have to air on linear TV.
* They noted that cable and streaming partners are still coming onboard and that by the end of the year, they’re expecting the majority of current ESPN subscribers to have the ESPN app included in their subscription.
