With linear-TV ratings (and live-event attendance, even when there were live events) dwindling and a general trend toward media consolidation, it has been within the realm of possibility that WWE could be acquired by an existing partner — like an NBCU, which prior to the five-year Peacock streaming deal already aired several WWE productions, or Fox, the home of “SmackDown.”
The deal for WWE’s streaming content indisputably makes NBCUniversal the pro-wrestling company’s closest partner, but this could just be a savvy arms dealer’s move to sell ammunition (content) to the highest bidder in the middle of a (streaming) war.