Overview
- ESPN and The CW confirmed that CW Sports content will begin streaming in the ESPN App on Tuesday, August 4, with a two‑hour WWE NXT kickoff.
- The agreement will put more than 800 hours of live CW Sports on the ESPN App each year, covering WWE NXT, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and college football and basketball from the ACC, Pac‑12 and Mountain West.
- Streaming access to CW Sports on the ESPN App will require an ESPN Unlimited subscription that can be activated through TV and mobile providers, bought standalone, or obtained in the Disney+/Hulu/ESPN Unlimited bundle.
- The deal preserves CW’s long‑term race rights and rights structure by keeping CW Sports as the exclusive home for all 33 NASCAR O’Reilly Series races through 2031 and by using a sublicense that lets CW air additional ACC games.
- For the rest of 2026, some NASCAR practice and qualifying will remain on The CW App before migrating to ESPN Unlimited in 2027, a phased move that widens streaming access for viewers without over‑the‑air CW reception but shifts more content behind a paid tier.