ESPN has filed a motion to intervene in a class action lawsuit against WWE over access to Premium Live Events. The network aims to compel arbitration, even though it was not originally named as a defendant. The move was first noted by wrestling journalist Brandon Thurston.
In a recent court filing, ESPN moved to insert itself into a class action lawsuit targeting WWE for issues related to access to its Premium Live Events, known as PLEs. The sports broadcaster, which holds broadcasting rights for WWE programming, argued for arbitration as the proper venue to resolve the dispute. Filings emphasize that ESPN was not among the initial defendants in the suit against WWE, the professional wrestling promotion under TKO Group Holdings. Brandon Thurston, a journalist covering the wrestling industry, first highlighted the ESPN motion on social media, drawing attention to the network's unexpected involvement. This development comes amid ongoing legal scrutiny of WWE's event accessibility practices, though specifics of the plaintiffs' claims remain centered on WWE. ESPN's intervention underscores its stake in WWE content distribution, potentially aiming to shield its interests through a private arbitration process rather than public litigation. Neither ESPN nor WWE has issued public statements on the filing as of Saturday morning.
