Update on ESPN streaming service availability for cable & satellite users
This story was updated Thursday morning.
In a dizzying day of questions and answers regarding the availability of ESPN’s impending streaming service for existing cable & satellite subscribers, there are some updates that may make those subscribers a bit frustrated — at first, anyway.
This is especially pertinent for WWE fans given the news that the company’s full slate of premium live events will head to ESPN starting in April 2026 after WWE’s existing deal with Peacock ends.
Initially, it was reported by Alex Sherman of CNBC Wednesday that “cable subs will automatically get the ESPN (direct to consumer) product thru authentication.” That was followed by both Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics and PWInsider reporting that only customers of Charter (Spectrum), DirecTV, FuboTV, Hulu Live TV, and Verizon Fios would have that luxury and that everyone else would need to pay for the service.
Sherman provided some updated reporting Thursday through his newsletter, verifying Thurston and PWInsider’s initial information and giving some hope for those that are customers of Xfinity, YouTube TV, and other major providers. He quipped that while WWE had the Attitude Era, this is the Confusion Era for ESPN.
“…I’m told discussions with all of these pay TV providers are ongoing, and Disney hopes to have most of them done by the end of the year. It’s still unclear to me at this point if Disney can accelerate some of these discussions if their pay TV carriage renewals aren’t until 2026.
Long-term, ESPN plans to have authentication deals with every major pay TV distributor. Disney doesn’t want existing cable customers leaving the bundle just because ESPN is now available outside of it.
But when the application is ready for showtime on Aug. 21, there are going to be a bunch of pay TV subscribers who aren’t going to get their authentication access that they’re paying for.”
The service that launches later this month will start at $29.99 per month or $300 for an annual subscription.
WWE to ESPN coverage:
- WWE bringing PLEs to ESPN in 2026 in new five-year deal
- Triple H: WWE PLEs will be ‘more of a spectacle’ than ever before on ESPN
- Nick Khan clarifies how many annual PLEs are part of WWE/ESPN deal
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.