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ESPN and WWE step into the ring with reported $1.6 billion, five-year streaming deal

WWE’s 10 biggest live events are poised to join ESPN’s new streaming platform next year.

8/6/25 9:48AM

ESPN is not content with being the worldwide leader in sports, and also wants to be among the most electrifying names in sports entertainment.

The Disney-owned sports network is teaming up with WWE in a reported five-year, $1.6 billion deal to stream 10 of the wrestling giant’s biggest events, including WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, and SummerSlam. Terms of the agreement were reported by The Wall Street Journal.

For context: that would be 80% above what Peacock reportedly paid, $180 million per year, for the same package in a previous deal. The partnership kicks off in 2026 and will bring WWE’s premium events to ESPN’s $29.99 per month direct-to-consumer platform, with some events simulcast on cable.

“In many ways, this is our destiny,” TKO CEO Mark Shapiro said in a CNBC interview. “If you want to expand the audience, our fan base, the fervor around WWE, and grow on a real significant national scale, you can’t do that as it relates to the sports world without partnering with ESPN.”

ESPN has been bulking up ahead of its streaming service launch. Yesterday, it announced a deal to acquire the NFL Network, RedZone rights, and other league-owned media assets in exchange for a 10% equity stake going to the NFL.

Disney is clearly trying to pump some muscle into ESPN after the sports giant eked out just 1% revenue growth last quarter.

Shares of TKO, which owns WWE, fell 2% on the news. Disney, which reported earnings Wednesday morning, also fell about 3%.

Nia Warfield11h

Better Home soars after Opendoor kingmaker Eric Jackson dubs it the “Shopify of mortgages”

Shares of Better Home & Finance soared over 160% Monday after EMJ Capital founder Eric Jackson posted on X, dubbing the online mortgage lender the “Shopify of mortgages.” The post drew attention to BETR’s rapid growth.

He went further, calling BETR a “potential 350-bagger in 2 years.” In a subsequent post, Jackson argued that Better ought to be worth $626 per share today, and claimed that it should be worth $12,000 per share in two years.

Now, these are bold claims, but Jackson is coming off a rather successful called shot as the primary architect of the rally in Opendoor Technologies. After a similar series of posts where Jackson argued that Opendoor would be the next Carvana, retail interest in the real estate stock soared, mobilizing an “$OPEN Army” that has managed to gain the ear of management as they propel the stock upward.

Needless to say, when Jackson talks up a stock, retail at least will hear him out.

Better Home & Finance stock is now up a massive 682% year to date.

Millie Giles17h

Fox Corp.’s Lachlan and Rupert Murdoch might be part of the TikTok deal, Trump says

President Trump has said that Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan, the chief executive of Fox, are “probably” going to be involved in the investor group looking to buy TikTok in the US.

In an interview with Fox News that aired on Sunday, Trump suggested that the conservative media magnates would join partners including Oracle and Dell in the proposed US deal for the popular social media app.

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Microsoft is hiking US Xbox prices for the second time in five months

Microsoft said on Friday that it is once again hiking the price of Xbox consoles in the US, this time by up to $70. According to the company, the new prices will take effect on October 3.

A Series X special edition console will now cost $800, up from $730. The standard Series X is now $650, up from $600. Pricing outside of the US will stay the same, Microsoft said.

If you’re feeling deja vu, that’s because Microsoft just did this back in May when it hiked its Xbox prices by up to $100 in the US. The standard edition of the Series X was $500 at launch, meaning the nearly 5-year-old console has seen a 30% price hike this year.

The update is “due to changes in the macroeconomic environment,” according to Microsoft, language mirroring that of rivals Sony and Nintendo when each hiked their own console prices last month. Industry analysts have long warned that tariffs like those imposed by President Trump could substantially increase the costs of video game console production.

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Casio is about to start selling a furry AI-powered pet robot in the US, as it bets on loneliness

The watchmaker behind G-Shock is betting on the growing loneliness epidemic to save its struggling business.

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