The CW Network has formed a pair of distribution partnerships with the Walt Disney Company’s ESPN and streaming platform Roku for its shows and live sports events, the network announced on Wednesday.
Starting this week, subscribers of ESPN’s streaming plan ESPN Unlimited will be able to watch more than 800 hours of live content from the CW Network through its CW Sports brand, including premium live events from NASCAR, ACC, Pac-12, Mountain West and WWE’s NXT brand.
For wrestling fans, the allure of having the CW Network’s premium sports events is particularly strong: ESPN Unlimited already offers premium events from the WWE, which were previously sold on a pay-per-view basis, and the CW Network was announced this week as the exclusive broadcast partner of WWE’s NXT premium events.
Streamers with ESPN Unlimited won’t have to pay anything more to watch CW Sports content within the app, and CW Sports events will remain available on broadcast, cable and satellite TV through CW Network stations and affiliates.
“This agreement extends the reach of CW Sports and enables us to capture audiences across the best of broadcast and the best of streaming, ensuring fans can access live CW Sports wherever they are and on whatever device they prefer,” said Brad Schwartz, the President of the CW Network, in a statement on Wednesday.
Separately, the CW Network struck a deal with Roku that will allow the streaming platform to offer next-day episodes of shows from the network, starting later this year. The Roku deal involves around 800 hours of shows from the CW Network’s prime-time schedule, but doesn’t include the live sports available on ESPN Unlimited.
CW Network content will be offered through The Roku Channel, which isn’t exclusive to Roku devices: A version of the platform is also available for other devices powered by Apple TV, Android TV (Google TV) and Amazon Fire TV, and as a downloadable app on Samsung smart TVs.
“Partnering with Roku supercharges the reach and accessibility of The CW’s premium entertainment content,” Schwartz said. “By combining The Roku Channel’s expansive audience with The CW’s nationwide linear footprint, we’re bringing together the best of broadcast with the best of streaming to unlock unprecedented scale for our content, our audience and our advertisers.”
