ESPN is turning to the WWE in its latest effort to fill time during sports’ coronavirus hiatus.
ESPN announced Friday that it will broadcast encore presentations of past years’ Wrestlemania on three straight Sundays beginning this weekend. The network will broadcast Wrestlemania 30 from 2014 this coming Sunday at 7 PM ET, followed by Wrestlemania 32 from 2016 on March 29 (7 PM) and last year’s Wrestlemania 35 on April 5 (3 PM).
The encores are the first WWE events to air on an ESPN network. ESPN did air live-cut ins from Wrestlemania in 2016 and had then-SportsCenter anchor — and former WWE broadcaster — Jonathan Coachman anchor SportsCenter segments from the event.
The WWE has an existing relationship with ESPN rival Fox Sports, which airs WWE Smackdown on Friday nights. ESPN does have a relationship with WWE president Vince McMahon by way of the XFL, which airs games on ESPN/ABC.
The re-airs will coincide with this year’s Wrestlemania, which will go on as scheduled in front of essential personnel on April 4 and 5.
ESPN has been forced to get creative during the coronavirus pandemic, which has resulted in the cancellation or postponement of nearly all live sporting events.
[News from ESPN PR 3.20]
