It’s been an entirely new universe for ESPN as the Worldwide Leader in Sports is now in the business of sports entertainment. And the relationship between ESPN and WWE will have its biggest stage yet with WrestleMania 42 coming up in April.
ESPN will be the exclusive home of WrestleMania thanks to the mega-deal the network struck last summer to bring WWE premium live events to its new streaming app. In the months since, ESPN has consistently hosted WWE stars on its daily programming alongside the network’s top talent to promote these shows, even airing highlights alongside the non-scripted sports of the day.
And for the company’s trademark event, ESPN is pulling out all the stops to make it a success. In a historic announcement, ESPN and WWE revealed that the first hour of WrestleMania on Saturday and Sunday will air live on linear television at 6 p.m. ET. The Saturday show will see its first hour live on ESPN2 while Sunday’s show will see its first hour air on ESPN.
BIG NEWS!
The 1st hour of WrestleMania on BOTH Saturday and Sunday will be streaming LIVE on ESPN2 and @espn!
📺 6 ET/ 3 PT pic.twitter.com/isQdByYSqa
— WWE (@WWE) February 28, 2026
The announcement comes as the ESPN app has faced a rocky launch with cable and satellite subscribers who had assumed they would get access from day one. Just this week, ESPN announced that Xfinity subscribers would be granted access to ESPN Unlimited after a delay of several months following a new carriage deal. However, YouTube TV subscribers may be left in the dark until the fall even after its high-profile dispute with Disney was settled months ago. The delays for granting authentication have been frustrating to fans who were told that they would have easy access to ESPN Unlimited with a cable or satellite subscription that included ESPN.
The move to broadcast one hour of WrestleMania on television is a wise one for ESPN and WWE in that it will be the biggest and best publicity for their partnership. Since WWE’s top event moved to a two-day format, both shows have traditionally started with a huge opening match. At WrestleMania 41 last year in Las Vegas, Jey Uso won the World Heavyweight Championship from Gunther on Night 1, while Iyo Sky, Rhea Ripley, and Bianca Belair had a Match of the Year contender for the Women’s World Championship on Night 2.
Broadcasting matches of that caliber for free this year is the best advertisement WWE can get. Not only will it reach a massive audience of casuals and folks who may have not seen the product in years, it just might entice those individuals without access to ESPN Unlimited to pay up to watch the entire show.
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