WWE announced a major deal this week. The WWE Network in the United States will be moving to NBC Universal’s Peacock streaming service in March. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the deal has been in the works for months.
WWE hired Nick Khan as President and Chief Revenue Officer in August. “The deal started in talks almost exactly after Khan took over as President of WWE,” wrote Dave Meltzer. “Nick Cordella, the Chief Revenue Officer at Peacock congratulated Khan on his new job the day it was announced, and in his next message, told him, ‘Let’s talk.'”
Khan replaced George Barrios and Michelle Wilson in his role as President and CRO. Barrios and Wilson had both played a major role in the development of the WWE Network. They were promoted to co-Presidents in 2018 and then let go in 2020.
Khan spoke with the Wall Street Journal about the deal. He noted that it will create new WWE fans by exposing the product to potential new consumers.
“As you said, if it is only on WWE Network and you are not a fan yet, why would you subscribe to that?” Khan said. “This gives a chance to win people over when it is right in front of them and the hope is there is a trickle down effect to Raw and SmackDown and ultimately to ticket sales, once that is happening again, merchandising, etc.”
WWE Network Employees Blind-Sided By Deal
A WWE employee who has worked on the WWE Network sent a statement to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. According to the comments by the [anonymous[ employee, WWE staff were blind-sided by the deal and fear for their jobs. A portion of the letter is below:
“Myself and my team were completely bulldozed by the press release about Peacock’s streaming rights to WWE Network in the U.S.,” noted a Wrestling Observer source within the WWE Network. “
“We just had an all employee meeting last week and there was zero indication that this would be happening. And while I’m here, I’ve also heard internally that they’re pointing the finger at social media for poor ratings.”
