It’s About To Cost More Money To Watch WWE

For decades, how wrestling fans watched WWE was mostly unchanged. Raw and SmackDown were on cable, and we bought pay-per-views on the same cable service for about $50. Then came the WWE Network. As streaming began, the new service changed everything. Suddenly, every WWE pay-per-view, along with a massive library of past shows, could be found on the WWE Network for just $9.99 per month.

These days, however, everything in entertainment seems to be fractured. Just ask NFL, NBA, and MLB fans, who now need umpteen subscriptions to watch their favorite sport. In 2026, it’s not different for American wrestling fans. While overseas, the WWE Universe can get everything on Netflix, it’s a different story in the United States. If you want to watch everything WWE, you need cable, Netflix, Peacock, and ESPN. That’s a lot to pay, and now the cost is going up.

ESPN Unlimited Is Already Raising Subscription Prices

• WWE PLEs and the library content moved from the WWE Network to Peacock.
• WWE PLEs began airing on ESPN Unlimited in 2025.
• After only a year, prices are going up by $2 monthly or $20 annually.

A couple of years ago, U.S. fans saw WWE content move from the WWE Network to Peacock. Although the interface wasn’t as good, we at least got to have the old library and see live PLEs at near the same low price. Outside of Raw, SmackDown, and NXT, all brands of PLEs were found in the same place. Last year, that came to an end with the announcement of ESPN Unlimited. The streaming service would have more sports content, and would become the exclusive home of WWE PLEs. There was just one huge problem. It cost $30 a month to use it. Although there have been changes to make it available for free for those with services like YouTube TV, it’s still not available at a low cost for fans who don’t subscribe to other streamers.

This week, ESPN announced that the ESPN Unlimited Cost is going up already, just a year after it was created in August 2025. Starting on September 17, 2026, the monthly plan will go up $2, from $29.99 to $31.99 per month. For those who were trying to save money with the annual alternative, the price hike will change from $299.99 to $319.99 annually.

It’s Going To Cost More To Watch ‘Saturday Night’s Main Event’ on Peacock

• Saturday Night’s Main Event is the only WWE show still on Peacock.
• Peacock has raised prices four times in four years.
• Prices for NBCUniversal’s app have gone up from $1–$3 per month and $10–$30 per year.

This isn’t the only near immediate price increase for WWE fans. WWE PLEs and the library that came with them may have left Peacock, but the company isn’t totally gone from the streamer. If you want to watch Saturday Night’s Main Event (or Sunday Night’s Main Event) in America, you can only watch it on Peacock. This month, the price went up on NBCUniversal’s app for the fourth time in the last four years.

On August 18, 2026, Peacock released a statement with their new price increases effective on that date. The three tiers of monthly plans went up from anywhere to $1-$3 per month, based on whether you subscribe to Select, Premium, or Premium Plus. For annual subscriptions, the price jump is $10-30 per year based on the same plans. That’s a lot to pay just to watch one WWE show which only airs a few times per year.

Netflix Has Also Raised Prices Twice

• In the United States, WWE Raw airs on Netflix.
• Netflix plans have gone up in price twice in a little more than a year.
• NXT and SmackDown air on the CW and the USA Network.

It’s not any better for the weekly WWE shows either. If you watch Raw on Netflix regularly, you know that Netflix plans went up back in March for the second time in about a year. Standard plans with ads rose from $7.99 to $8.99 monthly, while the Premium no ad plan rose from $17.99 to $19.99. It’s not any better for NXT and SmackDown. If your love for those on the USA Network and CW stops you from completely cutting the cord on cable services, then you can spend about $83 a month for something like YouTube TV.

Ratings are going down across the board for WWE and the continued price hikes won’t help. It’s no wonder so many fans get their WWE content for free in clips on social media sites and YouTube. This is also changing how so many of us watch. Rather than getting invested in an entire show and paying attention to a match from start to finish, cost changes are changing our brains to crave only the big viral segments, or the last minutes of a match shown online. The need for the instant dopamine hit means less popular WWE stars and longer matches without intricate storylines involved fall by the wayside. As prices continue to go up and push fans away, this will only continue. But, hey, at least AAA and NXT PLEs are free on YouTube… for now.