ESPN’s debut of live WWE programming on its linear networks delivered encouraging early results. WrestleMania 42 simulcast windows on ESPN and ESPN2 averaged 1.72 million viewers Saturday and Sunday evening, according to Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports.
Those numbers exclude ESPN Unlimited viewers, where the full event streamed exclusively.
This was the first time a WWE WrestleMania event was broadcast on traditional liner television. Wednesday, the WWE noted the two-night event was one of the highest grossing events in company history. Gate, sponsorship, merchandise, and digital metrics all hit record or near-record levels
ESPN is currently paying a reported $325 million annually for WWE Premium Live Events on their ESPN Unlimited plan.
The pre-show countdown specials also performed well. The one-hour lead-in on Saturday attracted 676,000 viewers, while Sunday’s countdown show reached 750,000 viewers. These figures add further context to WWE WrestleMania 42 viewership, showing steady interest leading into both nights.
With the event placed against both NBA and NHL postseason play on other networks, the viewership should considered positive being it was a company first. ESPN has not released any additional data on the number of added subscriptions the ESPN Unlimited plan received during the two-night event.
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