Wrestling company’s events have been screened by Sky Sports for almost 30 years
BT Sport has confirmed it has acquired the rights to WWE programming, ending Sky Sports coverage of the professional wrestling.
WWE and BT Sport today announced a new multi-year exclusive pay TV agreement that begins in January 2020.
Reports that WWE was moving from Sky to BT first surfaced last month.The sports entertainment company’s events have been shown on Sky for more than three decades, and Sky signed a new five-year deal with WWE in 2014.
BT Sport will air WWE’s Raw and SmackDown events exclusively live every week, featuring bouts from WWE stars including Roman Reigns, Becky Lynch, Seth Rollins, Kofi Kingston and Charlotte Flair.
WWE and BT Sport will also partner across digital and social media platforms to create new content for fans in the UK and Ireland.
WWE’s monthly pay-per-view events, including WrestleMania, will be available on BT Sport Box Office. BT Sport will also carry same day primetime re-airs of Raw on Tuesdays and SmackDown on Saturdays, a two-hour version of Raw, one-hour version of Raw and one-hour version of SmackDown across its portfolio of channels.
“We are incredibly excited by our new partnership with WWE,” said BT Consumer managing director of content and strategy Andy Haworth. “It is the most successful sports entertainment brand in the world, with a rich, fun and colorful history, loved by fans across the UK and Ireland. This is a brilliant addition for our customers and we can’t wait to get going in January.”
“We are pleased to begin an exciting new chapter for WWE in the region as we join BT Sport’s innovative offering and impressive portfolio of premium sports content,” said Stefan Kastenmüller, senior vice president and group general manager, EMEA for WWE.
BT Sport’s sports portfolio also includes the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, MotoGP and UFC.
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