In recent years, WWE has been diversifying its television rights agreements, with the most recent being a five-year deal with ESPN for their Premium Live Events (PLEs).
According to Fightful Select, they have been inquiring with various WWE insiders about the future of the company's extensive archive of content, which includes footage from WWE, WCW, ECW, and other video libraries acquired over the years. While there has not yet been a definitive announcement regarding the fate of this library once WWE's deal with Peacock concludes, many within the company believe they will leverage their relationship with Google to utilize YouTube for this content.
The report also highlights that live and new content is easier to license since it consistently garners the most views. One source indicated that YouTube could help WWE attract new fans through its archive and might encourage the company to accept a lucrative deal if the opportunity arises.
Additionally, the report states that WWE has nearly every show uploaded in the backend for copyright recognition. This includes everything from current episodes of RAW to "Shotgun Saturday Night" from the 1990s. Over the past few months, WWE has developed several "Vault" YouTube channels dedicated to WWE, NXT, and WCW.
