ESPN head says they previously tried to get WWE Raw, SmackDown & archive rights

The desire to have live WWE programming on ESPN has been a goal for quite some time, according to ESPN president of content Burke Magnus.

The longtime executive talked to sports media reporter Richard Deitsch about a variety of topics regarding the ESPN brand when the topic of the WWE premium live rights came up.

Noting that ESPN aired historical WrestleManias during the pandemic, Magnus said, “I took a couple of runs at the Raw and SmackDown packages and the WWE Network previously. I’ve had a great appreciation for this content for a long time.”

He didn’t give any details as to why that didn’t happen or how serious they were, nor the timeframes in which he tried to acquire them.

He continued that while he’s not too familiar with today’s storylines, “I have a full appreciation for what they’ve built over there in terms of a great form of entertainment and clearly, the results speak for themselves in terms of how many fans they pack in arenas and stadiums. It’s remarkable.”

Magnus was also asked about how WWE will be covered when news breaks storyline-wise which he said was “a really active conversation to date.” He said everything has been presented in relation to the launch of the relationship, and that he expects there will be coverage but “in the context of what WWE is,” noting that it’s entertainment.

Magnus also talked about wanting to retain the services of occasional WWE announcer Pat McAfee when his contract for College GameDay wraps up in May 2028. McAfee was part of the desk during last Saturday’s Wrestlepalooza — the first PLE as part of WWE’s five-year deal with ESPN. There has been heavy speculation they will be a major player for WWE archive content when Peacock’s domestic rights expire at year’s end.