TKO Group’s WWE said its flagship Wrestlemania event last weekend set records across the board, with viewership on Peacock rising 114%.
The 41st edition of the annual showcase was held April 19 and 20 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
The amount of viewing time was not disclosed, but it more than doubled from the 1.3 billion live minutes reported in 2024. Peacock ended 2024 with 36 million subscribers, according to its corporate parents, Comcast and NBCUniversal.
The current U.S. rights deal between the WWE and Peacock is in its final stages. In 2021, Peacock acquired the wrestling circuit’s streaming rights, including for premium live events like Wrestlemania, in a 5-year agreement worth about $1 billion.
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Gate attendance for Wrestlemania 41 also set a record, the WWE said, with 124,693 fans at both nights. Merchandise sales, which are handled via a partnership with Fanatics, rose 45% onsite and e-commerce revenue jumped 86%, both new high marks.
The two-day event also racked up 1.1 billion views on social media, and the WWE’s YouTube channel had its most-viewed day on Sunday.
In the climactic bout of Wrestlemania on Easter night, John Cena defeated Cody Rhodes for the WWE championship. Seth Rollins won the “triple threat match,” which also featured Roman Reigns and CM Punk, Iyo Sky retained the women’s world championship.
On the corporate front, the two-day Las Vegas extravaganza followed a series of corporate maneuvers for the Ari Emanuel-run TKO Group. Last month, Emanuel’s longtime firm, Endeavor, was taken private by Silver Lake. The transaction ended a four-year run for Endeavor as a publicly traded company. Some assets formerly controlled by Endeavor have also shifted over to TKO Group in recent months.
TKO President Mark Shapiro addressed the state of WWE’s relationship with Peacock and NBCU in an appearance last month at a conference hosted by Wall Street firm Morgan Stanley.
“That deal comes up early to mid-part of 2026,” he said. “Our conversations on our renewal start relatively soon. In speaking with all the powers at be at Comcast, they are keen to renew and we’re excited to have those conversations. And by the way, Peacock has been a crazy good partner, we’ve been a huge driver of that platform – both in terms of acquisition and retention – and they are making it a priority, so we’re keen to renew with them.”
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