WWE Network moves to Peacock – here is everything you need to know

April 4, 2021 TimandLeander Articles

By Olivia Clark

With Wrestlemania 37 upon us in less than two weeks, an important change has happened that will affect your typical WWE PPV viewing routine. The WWE Network will be going by the wayside and will transition over to NBCUniversal’s streaming platform Peacock exclusively. But what’s changing? How do I sign up? Is it worth it? I have all the answers!

Let’s talk about Peacock for a moment. Peacock launched back in April 2020 – just in time for prime at-home pandemic TV viewing. Peacock is host to hit NBC shows like The Office, 30 Rock, and Parks and Recreation just to name a few. Also it’s home to USA Network original shows, popular reality TV shows, movies and a whole lot more. The best part about Peacock is that it’s FREE, but not so fast WWE fanatics. In order to access WWE content on Peacock, you need at least the premium subscription.

Peacock comes in three tiers of access – free, premium, and premium plus. The Peacock free subscription lets you watch TV, movies, and Peacock channels at no cost. However, all free content will have ads.
The second tier is called Peacock Premium and it unlocks even more TV and movie content, exclusive Peacock original content, live sports, next day access to current NBC hits, and of course, WWE content. This package also includes ads.
The third tier is Peacock Premium Plus, which delivers all the goods of the premium package but with limited ad interruption.

So how much does this cost? Keep in mind, WWE Network priced their content subscription at $9.99 a month with the first month free to new subscribers.

Peacock Premium is $4.99 a month or $49.99 for the year up-front (a $9.89 savings). Right now, Peacock and WWE are running a welcome promo where new Peacock subscribers can sign up and enjoy four months of Premium access for a one-time payment of $9.99 (a 50% off savings). Use promo code PEACOCKMANIA. Offer ends April 9th. If you are an Xfinity or Cox subscriber, Peacock Premium is free with your subscription.

Peacock Premium Plus is $9.99 a month or $99.99 for the year up-front (a $19.89 savings). This is the same cost that WWE Network charged for just their content alone, but now you are getting much more with your Peacock subscription. This deal is definitely more bang for your buck.

But what is changing? Current Peacock subscribers have already gotten a sneak peak at its Pay-Per-View functionality on the new platform with last weekend’s Fastlane. Yours truly got a glimpse of what it was like. Upon opening the Peacock app, Fastlane was a featured show at the very top of the screen. Upon selecting the very large Fastlane icon, the app prompted you to select whether you’d like to watch live or start from the beginning, just like it did on WWE Network. I felt like I experienced less loading/lag/buffering during the entire PPV than I did on WWE Network. There were ads during the show, even with Premium Plus subscription (one of the exceptions I suppose). The ad content was different – more NBC/Peacock-centric, but I felt it was about the same amount of ads as before. What I noticed lacking was the rewind/fast forward functionality during the live showing of Fastlane. Before, you could rewind at anytime during a live PPV on WWE Network – and subsequently fast forward to catch up to live. On Peacock, it didn’t give you that option, which is a bummer and I hope they add that at some point.

The rest of WWE’s content is laid out in a pretty basic way, which shouldn’t require a huge learning curve to get used to. Most WWE shows and specials are already transitioned to Peacock, and the rest will be carried over in stages. You can already find Raw, Smackdown, and NXT episodes along with original series like Chronicle, 24, Untold, and all the various reality shows. One interesting addition to the content are the “Superstar Playlist” reels. It’s basically a highlight reel consisting of short clips featuring a particular superstar. You’ll find AJ Styles, Big E, Bianca Belair, Bobby Lashley, as well as a few up-and-comers like Io Shirai, Rhea Ripley, and Santos Escobar. If you’re a fan of Cesaro – sorry, you won’t find him. But you will find most top-name active workers which includes John Cena for some reason, who’s current working status is transient at best. This “Superstar Playlist” is Peacock’s most useless and forgettable WWE addition in my opinion. But everything else so far looks to be exactly the same.

Maybe not quite the same. Hollywood Reporter and multiple news outlets are reporting that Peacock is removing content deemed offensive and racist. Including a match with Roddy Piper and Bad News Brown where Piper wears partial blackface and a 2005 segment where Vince McMahon uses a racial slur in front of John Cena and Booker T. Some fans welcome the removals while other fans believe the past segments be updated with content advisory warnings instead. Peacock is continuing to review past WWE content and will remove anything that doesn’t meet their content standard.

I hope all your questions about WWE’s transition to Peacock have been answered here. Don’t forget, WWE Network will cease to exist on April 4th (in the US) and all content will be viewable exclusively on Peacock. Don’t miss Wrestlemania 37, WWE’s second ever two-day extravaganza on April 10th and 11th. Do you want to hear the good folks from Capes and Scowls Podcast talk about this year’s Wrestlemania? Do you want to know who are our picks to win each match? Let us know! Drop us a tweet @CapesandScowls & @Mad_Dog_Tim or send us an Email [email protected].

Olivia Clark is a bubbly barista by day and a sleuthing, scowling writer by night. She is knowledgeable in all things coffee and horticulture, with a special interest in comics, TV, film, music, and literary fiction. Contact her on Twitter @swahililove or Email [email protected]