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ESPN, WWE Reach Landmark Rights Agreement as ESPN Platforms Become Exclusive U.S. Domestic Home of All WWE Premium Live Events, Including WrestleMania, Starting in 2026

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ESPN, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), and WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO), today announced a landmark rights agreement as ESPN platforms, including the new ESPN direct-to-consumer streaming service, will become the exclusive U.S. domestic home of all WWE Premium Live Events (PLEs), including the two-night cultural phenomenon WrestleMania, starting in 2026. This deal makes ESPN home to the highest-profile WWE events of the year.

The post ESPN, WWE Reach Landmark Rights Agreement as ESPN Platforms Become Exclusive U.S. Domestic Home of All WWE Premium Live Events, Including WrestleMania, Starting in 2026 appeared first on ESPN Press Room U.S..

NBCUNIVERSAL CELEBRATES 4TH OF JULY WEEKEND WITH BASEBALL, RACIN’, WWE AND FIREWORKS

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Holiday Weekend Big Events Across NBCU:

  • WWE Money in the Bank
  • Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers
  • INDYCAR Mid-Ohio
  • NASCAR Road America
  • Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks® Spectacular

NEW YORK, NY – June 29, 2022 – Baseball, racin’, WWE and fireworks – that’s how NBCUniversal will help viewers celebrate 4th of July weekend this year, providing a menu of big events that are as American as apple pie.

The big-event coverage begins with WWE Money in the Bank on Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET exclusively on Peacock. It culminates on Independence Day as an American tradition continues with the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks® Spectacular at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.

Sunday starts with MLB Sunday Leadoff at 11:30 am ET exclusively on Peacock, featuring the Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers in a historic presentation without the traditional announcers in the broadcast booth. Also on Sunday is a motorsports doubleheader: INDYCAR Mid-Ohio at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock and NASCAR Road America at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

Click here to watch a 30-second spot about the holiday weekend programming.

4th of July weekend events (all times ET):

Saturday, July 2 Time Platform
WWE Money in the Bank 8:00 p.m. Peacock
     
Sunday, July 3    
MLB Sunday Leadoff – Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers 11:30 a.m. Peacock
INDYCAR Mid-Ohio 12:30 p.m. NBC, Peacock
NASCAR Road America 3:00 p.m. USA Network
     
Monday, July 4    
Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks® Spectacular 8:00 p.m. ET/PT NBC, Peacock
Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks® Spectacular encore 10:00 p.m. ET/PT NBC, Peacock

WWE MONEY IN THE BANK: Saturday night’s event features the Men’s and Women’s WWE Money in the Bank ladder matches and much more. Bianca Belair defends her Raw Women’s Championship against Carmella, while Theory defends his WWE United States Championship against Bobby Lashley. The kickoff show begins streaming at 7 p.m. ET, with the main event beginning at 8 p.m. ET, exclusively on Peacock.

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KANSAS CITY ROYALS AT DETROIT TIGERS: MLB Sunday Leadoff’s presentation of the Detroit Tigers hosting the Kansas City Royals this Sunday at Noon ET on Peacock will feature a unique broadcast without any commentators in the booth as viewers will be taken inside the ballpark to experience the game from different viewpoints and perspectives.

MLB Sunday Leadoff host and in-game reporter Ahmed Fareed, former Tigers outfielder and current Bally Sports Detroit analyst Craig Monroe, and NBC Sports’ Britney Eurton will take fans around Detroit’s Comerica Park throughout the game, providing viewers with a tour of the ballpark, unique viewpoints, conversations with special guests, and more.

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INDYCAR MID-OHIO: The 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season continues with live coverage of the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio this Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Two-time INDYCAR champion Josef Newgarden looks to defend his 2021 victory at the road course and aims to win his second consecutive race of the season following his win at Road America on June 12.

The lead INDYCAR commentary team of Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), Townsend Bell (analyst) and James Hinchcliffe (analyst) will call the race. Kevin Lee and Dillon Welch will provide reports from pit road.

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NASCAR ROAD AMERICA: NBC Sports’ first Cup Series race on USA Network is presented this Sunday with the Kwik Trip 250 presented by JOCKEY Made in America at 3 p.m. ET. Countdown to Green pre-race coverage begins at 2 p.m. ET on USA Network. 2020 NASCAR champion Chase Elliott, winner of NBC Sports’ 2022 season opener last week at Nashville Superspeedway, aims to defend his victory at Road America last season.

NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., 21-time Cup Series race winner Jeff Burton, and Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte will serve as analysts alongside lead NASCAR race announcer Rick Allen. Marty Snider, Parker Kligerman, and Kim Coon will serve as pit reporters.

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MACY’S 4TH OF JULY FIREWORKS® SPECTACULAR: NBC’s 46th annual Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks® Spectacular returns for a dazzling night of fireworks, star-studded musical performances and appearances by special guests. NBC News’ “TODAY” anchors Craig Melvin and Dylan Dreyer return for the second time to co-host the evening. The event will air Monday, July 4 (8-10 p.m. ET/PT) on NBC and will stream on Peacock. An encore presentation will follow from 10-11 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

Chart-toppers 5 Seconds of Summer, Brett Eldredge, Carly Pearce, and Pitbull with Filmore will light up the stage in advance of Macy’s iconic fireworks display on the canvas of New York City’s summer skyline. Lin-Manuel Miranda, James Monroe Iglehart, Kaila Mullady, Dizzy Senze and Anthony Veneziale from the cast of Freestyle Love Supreme will unite for a special performance. Broadway’s “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” cast members Jacqueline B. Arnold, Jessica Lee Goldyn, Tasia Jungbauer and Jeigh Madjus will also take the stage. In addition, celebrity chef and barbecue expert Chef David Rose will join the evening.

–NBCUNIVERSAL–

TMZ Update: WWE’s Renee Young Has COVID, Husband Jon Moxley Pulled from AEW Show

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Casey Carver casey.carver@tmz.com via sendgrid.net 8:52 AM (3 hours ago)
to me

Exclusive Details

WWE’s Renee Young Has COVID, Husband Jon Moxley Pulled from AEW Show

6/24/2020 1:31pm PDT

6/25 — WWE announcer Renee Young confirms she’s one of the people who tested positive for Coronavirus.

“Man. What a few days. My show gets cancelled and I get Covid,” Young tweeted Wednesday night.

“Wear your masks and wash your hands. Stay safe, everyone.”

Young’s husband, Jon Moxley, informed his bosses at All Elite Wrestling about the possible exposure — and he missed Wednesday’s episode of ‘Dynamite’ so he could quarantine.

“Mox did the right thing and warned us,” AEW boss Tony Khan said.

“Doc asked him to stay home and get tested to protect us here at our test site.”

A rep for WWE tells TMZ Sports … ”WWE will continue COVID-19 testing of its talent, production crew and employees in advance of TV productions for the foreseeable future.”

Multiple WWE staffers who have been working at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando — including in-ring talent — have tested positive for COVID, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

Sources familiar with the situation are telling us they would NOT classify the situation as an “outbreak” because it wasn’t a “large group” that contracted the virus.

ProWrestlingSheet, which broke the story, reports at least 3 people have tested positive so far.

Now, WWE is ramping up its testing and social distancing measures to try and limit the spread of the virus … especially with TV production expected to continue this week.

There has been a surge of Coronavirus cases in Florida — an additional 3,286 cases were reported on Tuesday — and 5,508 reported on Wednesday, the most number of recorded cases in a single day in FL so far.

In total, the number of cases in FL have crossed the 109,000 mark.

Both experts and politicians say the rising numbers are the result of more testing and the reopening of businesses.

Originally Published — 6/24 1:31 PM PT

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE COMES TO NBCSN WITH CLASSIC SHOWS HOSTED BY BIGGEST NAMES IN SPORTS, BEGINS WITH MICHAEL JORDAN, NEXT MONDAY, MAY 25 AT 8 P.M. ET

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Host Appearances by Dwayne Johnson, Tom Brady, Derek Jeter, LeBron James, Michael Phelps, Ronda Rousey, John Cena, Charles Barkley, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, J.J. Watt, and Andy Roddick

Athletes Serving as Hosts Have Combined to Win 35 MVP Awards, 29 Olympic Gold Medals, 10 Super Bowls, Nine NBA Titles and Five World Series

NBCSN to Present 20 Episodes in Primetime Next Monday-Friday

STAMFORD, Conn. – May 20, 2020 – NBC Sports presents classic sports-themed Saturday Night Live episodes on NBCSN next week, beginning Monday, May 25, at 8 p.m. ET with a Sept. 1991 episode hosted by Michael Jordan, just three months after he won the first of his six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls.

From next Monday through Friday in primetime, NBCSN will televise 20 SNL episodes dating back to the early 1990s that were hosted by the biggest names in sports. Athletes serving as host on next week’s stunt have combined to win 35 MVP awards (regular and postseason), 29 Olympic gold medals, 10 Super Bowls, nine NBA titles, and five World Series, not to mention a host of MMA and professional wrestling belts.

In addition to Michael Jordan, following are the SNL hosts in NBCSN appearance order: LeBron James, Charles Barkley, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, J.J. Watt, Dwayne Johnson, Andy Roddick, John Cena, Ronda Rousey, Michael Phelps, and Derek Jeter.

Programming will also stream on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.

The complete Saturday Night Live on NBCSN schedule is below:

DATE SNL EPISODE TIME (ET)
Monday, May 25 Michael Jordan: Sept. 28, 1991 8 p.m.
  LeBron James: Sept. 29, 2007 9 p.m.
  Charles Barkley: Jan. 9, 2010 10 p.m.
Tuesday, May 26 Tom Brady: April 16, 2005 7 p.m.
  Peyton Manning: March 24, 2007 8 p.m.
  Eli Manning: May 5, 2012 9 p.m.
  J.J. Watt: Feb. 1, 2020 10 p.m.
Wednesday, May 27 Dwayne Johnson: March 18, 2000 7 p.m.
  Dwayne Johnson: April 13, 2002 8 p.m.
  Dwayne Johnson: March 7, 2009 9 p.m.
  Andy Roddick: Nov. 8, 2003 10 p.m.
Thursday, May 28 Dwayne Johnson: March 28, 2015 7 p.m.
  John Cena: Dec. 10, 2016 8 p.m.
  Dwayne Johnson: May 20, 2017 9 p.m.
  Ronda Rousey: Jan. 23, 2016 10 p.m.
Friday, May 29 Michael Phelps: Sept. 13, 2008 7 p.m.
  Derek Jeter: Dec. 1, 2001 8 p.m.
  Charles Barkley: Jan. 7, 2012 9 p.m.
  Charles Barkley: March 3, 2018 10 p.m.
  Michael Jordan: Sept. 28, 1991 11 p.m.

 

–NBC SPORTS–