WWE Network, the professional wrestling company’s pioneering streaming service is about to become part of the NBC Peacock streaming service in the US.
In a surprise move, WWE Network will cease to operate as an independent entity in the United States and instead become part of the wider Peacock offering, which also offers Premier League Football and classic television shows like The Office and Saturday Night Live.
The switchover will take place on March 18, just before WrestleMania, WWE’s annual biggest event of the year. WrestleMania and all other pay-per-views will still be available on Peacock moving forward, as revealed by Variety.
Interestingly, current WWE Network subscribers will be moved across to Peacock and could get a 50% price cut on their current rate. WWE Network is $9.99. Peacock Premium, which has ads despite the misleading name, is just $4.99. Peacock Premium Plus gets rid of those ads and is $9.99.
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To replicate the full experience, subscribers will probably want to pay $9.99 and remain free of advertisements and take the win of all that additional Peacock content.
Excited for @peacockTV to become the new home of @WWENetwork in the U.S., helping to bring premium @WWE content (including @WrestleMania!!!) to a much broader audience and to provide the @WWEUniverse with a wide offering of live sports, news, film & TV! https://t.co/MPzcxjL3IV
— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) January 25, 2021
Those subscribers will still get to access everything in the Peacock library as well as every WWE pay-per-view event, original series and the vast array of archive content of pay-per-views and television shows from WWE(F), WCW and ECW going back almost half a century.
If you’re wondering how this concerns you as a UK WWE Network subscriber, it doesn’t right now. The deal only applies in the United States and all international customers will see no changes as a result.
That’s not to say there won’t be knock-on effects in the future, but for now it’s business as usual for WWE Network aficionados in the UK and beyond. Overall, it’s great news for wrestling fans in the US no matter how you slice it, but we’re really surprised WWE has taken this route and sacrificed that independence.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
