WWE and Peacock announce an exclusive deal to air Saturday Night's Main Event

The recent agreement signed by WWE and ESPN will bring about a series of important changes starting in March 2026, when the PLE of the company owned by Endeavor will be exclusively broadcast on the popular sports platform in the United States. However, this will not mean the end of the relationship between WWE and Peacock, as it will exclusively feature four annual shows of Saturday Night's Main Event, including John Cena's retirement tour final match. This was explained by NBC in a recent press release.

"Featuring top WWE Superstars, championship matches, and much more, Saturday Night's Main Event will air in prime time on Peacock four times a year. The Saturday Night's Main Event show on December 13, 2025, headlined by the retirement match of WWE Superstar John Cena, will be broadcast live and exclusively on Peacock.

Peacock will continue to host the WWE Network library until the end of 2025 and NXT events until March 2026. Peacock remains the home of SmackDown's library in reruns, and USA Network will continue as the exclusive home of SmackDown's live broadcast on Friday nights."

"STAMFORD, Conn. - August 20, 2025 - Peacock and WWE®, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), today announced a multi-year partnership agreement to exclusively broadcast the iconic series Saturday Night's Main Event live through Peacock.

Saturday Night's Main Event will be exclusively broadcast in prime time by Peacock four times a year, featuring top WWE Superstars, rivalries, championship matches, and much more.

Peacock will exclusively broadcast two editions of Saturday Night's Main Event this year, starting on November 1. Additionally, the December 13 event will feature John Cena's retirement match.

The WWE Network library will continue to be available on Peacock until the end of 2025, and premium NXT live events will be available until March 2026.

During the term of the agreement, the SmackDown library will remain available on Peacock with a 30-day delay, while USA Network will continue to be the exclusive home of SmackDown's live broadcast on Friday nights.

"We are excited to bring Saturday Night's Main Event exclusively to Peacock starting this fall", said Paul "Triple H" Levesque, WWE's Chief Content Officer. "NBCU has been an exceptional partner for many years, and we look forward to continuing to work together in the future".

"Peacock has had a wonderful relationship with WWE and we are excited for it to continue for many more years," said Rick Cordella, President of NBC Sports. "Saturday Night's Main Event is one of the standout contents produced by WWE, including the upcoming retirement match of John Cena, and everything will be live and exclusive on Peacock".

Saturday Night's Main Event originally premiered on NBC in 1985 and aired on the network until 1991. The popular event returned to NBCUniversal in September 2024 with a special edition from the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Long Island, New York, the same venue where the first Saturday Night's Main Event was held."

WWE brought back Saturday Night's Main Event in 2024 for exclusive airing on the NBC channel. Despite the initial positive reception from fans, many fans criticized the excessive amount of commercial breaks, which constantly interrupted the flow of the shows.

The clearest example was seen in the last Saturday Night's Main Event special, which featured Goldberg's retirement match. While the fight fit within the established time, the same did not happen with his speech, which was cut off by the network, causing discomfort to the legend, fans, and WWE itself. It is hoped that Peacock takes note to avoid making the same mistakes in John Cena's farewell.