WWE Reportedly Caused MLW Streaming Deal To Get Nixed
WWE's reaction to a streaming deal that MLW had lined up reportedly led to the deal being nixed.
A new report from Fightful Select notes that MLW had a deal in the works with the Tubi streaming service, which is owned by FOX. Word is that the deal was to be announced publicly in August, but WWE learned of it beforehand, and a source close to FOX revealed that WWE did not respond favorably to the deal, which was to be announced imminently after WWE was made aware.
Due to WWE's response, the future of the MLW – Tubi deal was put into question. The report stated that WWE/FOX nixed the MLW – Tubi streaming deal.
When asked for comment on the story, WWE and MLW did not respond, and FOX declined to comment. At one time MLW had archived content on Tubi, but it appears they are no longer on the service.
It's been reported that FOX wasn't happy with NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service being promoted on their network during WWE programming. When reaching out to a WWE source in regards to FOX not being happy about Peacock promotion, it was noted that had FOX wanted to pay for the rights to WWE pay-per-views to turn the tables, they could have bid for them to air on Fox's Tubi platform. FOX sources reiterated that while there were some in the company who likely shared that same frustration, they were happy to help promote major events on FOX platforms because "what's good for the goose is good for the gander."
While it appears that there is at least some coexistence between NBCU's Peacock and USA Network, it was noted by Andrew Zarian of Mat Men that Peacock did not allow FOX or USA Network's social media teams to post videos from the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view. Instead, they were limited to using only GIFs.
On a related note, a source at Peacock noted that WWE's performance on the streaming service appears to be exceptional, with more eyes landing on WWE pay-per-view events than ever before. It was also said that the relationship between the two sides seems good. There has been strong criticism within WWE over how the Peacock platform that they moved to is less polished and less user-friendly than the WWE Network they moved from was. There were significant resources put into hiring staffers to optimize SEO for the WWE Network, but word is that the policies for Network content would change from day-to-day, and by the time the WWE Network ended in the United States, it still wasn't fully optimized.
Stay tuned for more.