WWE Archives to Leave To YouTube

Per Fightful's exclusive report, the outlet wasn’t given a firm answer from ESPN's spokesperson, but it was noted that WWE has an “advanced deal with Google because of their YouTube presence.” The outlet also noted that the “Vault YouTube channels could see a far grander utilization.”

One of the company's vault channels is, of course, the WWE Vault on YouTube. The channel includes classic matches and never-before-seen footage. One of the latest uploads was around 8 hours ago, and it’s titled, “Story of The Undertaker | Rise of The Phenom (1995-97).” It’s the fourth chapter in the career of the WWE Hall of Famer.

Also, WWE uploaded 8 hours ago, the full match between Masato Tanaka and Mike Awesome from the 1998 ECW Heatwave event. The channel boasts 2.66 million subscribers, while WWE’s original YouTube channel has 110 million subscribers. So, soon, the WWE Vault channel should gain a few more subscribers. WWE also has a YouTube channel that was created in November 2024, dedicated to everything WCW.

Back to the ESPN Deal

The thing that really stands out about this new deal is the hefty price tag. WWE fans with Peacock are paying around $10.99 a month, while with the ESPN deal, fans will be paying $29.99 a month. Though it was recently reported, those who are subscribed to ESPN via any traditional TV provider (including cable or satellite) won’t have to pay the $29.99. All fans have to do is sign into the ESPN app, and then they will have full access to everything available, including the WWE PLEs.

ESPN is said to be paying its own hefty price for the WWE content. As per CNBC, ESPN will pay $325 million a year for the next five years for the exclusive rights. What’s interesting is that Peacock paid a lot less when the content originally moved from the WWE Network to the streaming service. The company paid only $180 million per year. Things are definitely changing in the pro wrestling industry.