AEW’s new TV deals are expected to be announced any day now and if latest reported numbers are to be believed, it will mark a clear success for the company.
John Ourand of Puck News recently provided some inside information on the negotiations between the wrestling company and its TV partners, once again noting that the package is close to being finalized.
According to him, it’s expected to be a four-year deal with three guaranteed years and WBD having the option to extend the contract by another year. The number of $170 million a year that’s been floated is ‘apparently in the ballpark’ according to Ourand.
The deal with see AEW shows airing on TNT, TBS, and TruTV twice a week. It’s part of a strategy from WBD CEO David Zaslav to make the latter two networks more valuable and sport-oriented. This comes after WBD lost the NBA media rights bid to Amazon.
The report makes no mention of the highly anticipated Max streaming deal but they note that AEW is also pitching another separate package to broadcast channels. Though there is no timetable for when the company will start pushing that deal.
This is in reference to the company trademarking ‘AEW: Shockwave’ for a new entertainment show which is rumored to be airing on Fox after SmackDown left the network to return to USA.
The current AEW TV deals are believed to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $70 million per year so if true, the new numbers would be a huge success for Tony Khan’s promotion.
