WWE Network Merges With NBC’s Peacock

Professional wrestling is a niche form of entertainment that has been a major force in pop culture, responsible for superstars like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Johnson Cena, who’ve crossed over to the mainstream and become successful actors. And while the industry is still reeling from the unexpected passing of Brodie Lee, the show must go on and the WWE has announced that their titular network will be merging with NBC’s struggling streaming service, Peacock.

The news was something of a shock, as the WWE Network appeared to be very solid, racking up 1.6 million monthly subscribers since its launch in 2014. Many were skeptical when the boutique streamer was first announced, as Netflix and Hulu were really the only names in streaming at that time and most analysts were doubtful that a wrestling-only streaming service could be profitable in the long term.

However, it proved to be a wise move for the sports entertainment titan, and the WWE upped their profile significantly, as well as increasing their reach to casual viewers. Even with this success, the WWE Network has plateaued in terms of new subscribers, and with the proliferation of new streamers in recent years, they would likely struggle to push their service forward.

Therefore, the merger with NBC seems like a smart move now, and provides some corporate synergy, as NBC Universal has been a staunch supporter of the WWE since the 80s when they broadcast Saturday Night’s Main Event. The move will see the WWE product reach an even broader audience, but allows them to cut costs as they no longer have to maintain a stand-alone streaming service.

In fact, during an interview with The Wrap, WWE President Nick Khan commented on how the merger is beneficial to the premier wrestling organization in America:

Vince McMahon and the WWF, at the time, were the first movers from closed circuit to pay-per-view in the early ’80s, the first mover in the sports/entertainment space, outside of Netflix, to the SVOD model in 2014, and we believe the first mover, again, in this deal to partner with a massive conglomerate that has significant reach, in order to serve our fans and expand our audience. So, I’ll give you an example: Peacock is free in the [24 million] Comcast cable and Cox cable homes, as I’m sure you know, so…for the first time ever, WrestleMania, which is our Super Bowl, is going to be available for free to those homes. In addition to that, it cuts the cost for our consumers from $9.99 a month for WWE Network to $4.99 a month on the ad-supported tier of Peacock, where they’ll get not only WWE but EPL (English Premier League), The Office, Dick Wolf and so many other titles.

And NBC is coming out on top as well, as they are going to be the exclusive home for the majority of WWE’s content, and that’s coming with a very dedicated fanbase. Peacock has seen like the least of all the recent new streamers, and this is a big move to keep the service competitive and get people to subscribe.

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, though. Since the announcement, many fans have voiced their displeasure and ESPN has said that they’ll no longer be showing WWE content. And the future of SmackDown on Fox could be up in the air when it comes up for renewal. Even so, this seems like a win-win situation for both the WWE and NBC.