NBC Sports President Reveals WWE’s Role in Transforming Peacock’s Subscriber Model

NBC Sports President Rick Cordella recently appeared on The Main Event with Andrew Marchand, where he shared insights into how WWE and live sports shaped Peacock into the service it is today.

Surprisingly, Peacock wasn’t initially designed with sports in mind; rather, it aimed to emulate platforms like Netflix and Hulu with a focus on entertainment. However, COVID-19’s impact on sports schedules led to a shift in direction for the streaming platform.

“We kind of backed into it (having sports on Peacock),” Cordella explained, revealing an unplanned move to feature Premier League games at launch. “I’m not sure if I’ve ever told this story but Peacock wasn’t meant to have sports initially. We were really trying to be what Netflix was or what Hulu was, which was an entertainment, sort of S.V.O.D. (subscription video on demand), and we were trying to come up with ideas for our launch which (was) July 15th, 2020.”

Cordella went on to detail how, with Premier League games pushed into the summer, he approached former NBC Sports head Peter Bevacqua with a proposal. “I remember going to Peter Bevacqua…and saying, ‘Hey, what do you think about pulling some Premier League games out of NBC Sports Gold?’”

NBC Sports Gold was NBC’s sports-specific SVOD service, and moving its content to Peacock was an untested concept at the time. But with the Premier League’s support, the games aired on Peacock and “what drove the most subs on that launch day was Premier League,” Cordella explained. This response prompted NBC to keep Premier League games on Peacock for the remainder of the season.

As Peacock’s sports programming grew, live events like Tour de France continued to drive subscriptions, with Cordella likening it to broadcast TV’s “Sunday Night Football promoting Monday night content.” He explained, “That model worked, and I’d say from there, we added WWE Network, and that was a big one internally.”

Cordella credited WWE executives like Nick Khan for taking a chance on Peacock, as the streaming service was relatively new at the time. “We give a lot of credit to Nick Khan and the WWE team over there for having their faith in Peacock…We brought that product in and that content and those fans came,” he said, recognizing how WWE’s arrival drew in subscribers who not only engaged with WWE content but also stayed on for other offerings.

The partnership with WWE has proven crucial, with its fan base helping shape Peacock’s growth trajectory as a service offering both sports and entertainment. Looking ahead, the WWE-Peacock rights are up for renewal in March 2026, raising questions about the potential for a continued collaboration that has clearly benefited both sides.