Sin Cara jumps during the WWE Live Dusseldorf event at ISS Dome on Feb. 22, 2017 in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Lukas Schulze | Bongarts | Getty Images
NBCUniversal‘s Peacock announced Monday it’s reached an exclusive agreement to stream wrestling matches from the WWE Network in the U.S.
The agreement puts an end to the WWE Network’s independent streaming platform in the U.S., a person familiar with the matter told CNBC, though it will still exist on its own in other countries. On March 18, Peacock will begin rolling out 17,000 hours of WWE Network content. Original series, archives and documentaries will all be included in the library, as well as pay-per-view events like WrestleMania.
Fastlane will be the first pay-per-view event to stream on Peacock on March 21, the company said. It will also begin rolling out one “signature documentary” annually beginning in 2022.
The announcement comes as streaming platforms from Disney to AT&T‘s WarnerMedia compete for coveted shows to coax customers to their services. An extensive archive of shows has become even more important as production delays caused by the pandemic have shaken up schedules for new releases.
WWE fans in the U.S. will now essentially gain access to all this for a half-off discount while also accessing the rest of Peacock’s library. While the WWE Network’s own platform cost users $9.99 per month, Peacock’s ad-supported premium service is $4.99 per month. Users can upgrade to the ad-free Peacock Premium Plus for $9.99.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.
-CNBC’s Alex Sherman contributed to this report.
