WWE & BT Sport confirm multi-year TV deal for UK and Ireland
WWE is officially headed to a new television home in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
WWE and BT Sport confirmed today that they’ve agreed to a “new multi-year exclusive pay TV agreement that will make WWE’s weekly flagship programming available live in the UK and Ireland on BT Sport.” The deal will begin in January 2020.
The exact length of the deal wasn’t disclosed, nor were financial terms. The Telegraph first reported news of the agreement last month.
Raw and SmackDown will air live on BT Sport every week, and WWE pay-per-views will be available on BT Sport Box Office. BT Sport will air replays of Raw on Tuesdays and SmackDown on Saturdays. A two-hour version of Raw, a one-hour version of Raw, and a one-hour version of SmackDown will also air across BT’s channels.
The start of the agreement will mark the end of WWE’s 30-year TV partnership with Sky Sports. Dave Meltzer wrote that the BT deal “does weaken the WWE’s television situation, since Sky is currently in 8.56 million homes and BT is in 2.19 million homes.”
“We are incredibly excited by our new partnership with WWE. 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,” said Andy Haworth, Managing Director Content and Strategy, BT Consumer.
“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, WWE Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, EMEA.
The press release announcing the deal stated that WWE and BT Sport will “partner across digital and social media platforms to create new content for fans that will increase reach for WWE and drive engagement across the UK and Ireland.”
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.