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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%.

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There’s still plenty of money to be made in brainrot. The top 1,000 Roblox creators earned an average of $1.3 million in 2025 — up 50% from the year prior — according to CEO Dave Baszucki on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call.

Roblox paid out $1.5 billion to creators last year, meaning its top 1,000 creators took home about 87% of the total pool.

Like other creator economy giants, Roblox rewards its biggest creators for their contributions to user engagement. Creator-made titles like “Grow a Garden” and “Steal a Brainrot” substantially boosted playing time over the course of the year. In September, the company increased its developer exchange rate, or the ratio of in-game currency to cash payout, by 8.5%.

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Roblox answers Google’s Project Genie, launching the open beta for its “4D” AI creation tool

Roblox on Wednesday launched the open beta of its “4D” AI creation model, less than a week after the launch of Google’s Project Genie, an AI-powered interactive world generator.

The tool allows users to generate interactive objects that can be used in gameplay, such as a drivable car or a flyable plane, as opposed to static 3D objects.

Roblox’s “4D” system relies on rule sets called schemas that create objects out of multiple parts, allowing cars to have a body and movable wheels, for example.

“We expect to soon include schemas that cover the range of thousands of objects in the real world,” the company said.

The move to bring the tool out of early access and into open beta appears to be a response to Google’s Project Genie, which allows users to generate “playable” worlds out of a text or image prompt. Gaming stocks like Roblox, Take-Two, and Unity Software have dropped in the days since Project Genie’s release, though Wall Street analysts largely believe the market reaction to be unjustified, as interactivity through Google’s tool is limited.

Roblox's 4D creation feature is now available in open beta | TechCrunch