ESPN plans to expand its regular coverage of WWE, moving beyond promotional content tied to Premium Live Events. The confirmation came from ESPN President of Content Burke Magnus, who said the network is actively developing its long-term strategy following the partnership’s official launch.
Speaking on the Sports Media podcast, Magnus clarified that the recent influx of WWE Superstars on ESPN programming was primarily “launch-oriented.” The initial phase focused on building awareness for the new broadcast rights agreement and the inaugural PLE, WrestlePalooza, which aired on September 20.
“It’s a really active conversation. What we’re seeing today is launch-oriented,” Magnus said. “We’ve had superstars on our shows. Triple H has been on a variety of shows. Everything, though, has been presented in the context of the new partnership and WrestlePalooza.”
The network is now evaluating how to handle WWE coverage as the relationship moves beyond its introductory stage. Magnus emphasized ESPN’s respect for WWE’s product, acknowledging its scripted nature while praising its athletic and entertainment value.
“When it flips from being (less) about the awareness of the new rights agreements and new partnership, how do we handle coverage of the WWE across our platforms? That is a really active conversation right now,” he explained. “It’s unequivocally entertainment and part of sports and athletic and what we do in every way, other than the storylines are scripted, and it’s presented that way and everybody knows that. There is a full appreciation at ESPN of how compelling their content is from an entertainment perspective.”
This commitment comes even as the partnership’s first major event received a negative internal review from ESPN, published on September 23. The post-show analysis for WrestlePalooza gave the Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena match a C-. The mixed tag team match featuring CM Punk and AJ Lee against Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch, along with Cody Rhodes’ Undisputed WWE Championship defense against Drew McIntyre, both received a C.
The only marquee match to earn high marks was Stephanie Vaquer’s Women’s World Championship win over Iyo Sky, which received a B+. Magnus, a self-professed childhood fan, has long pursued WWE content, having previously attempted to secure broadcast rights for Raw and SmackDown.