This week, AEW confirmed a new multi-year multimedia rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, the culmination of lengthy discussions between the two sides. Starting in 2025, AEW pay-per-views will be available on Max at a discounted rate per event while Dynamite and Collision will continue to air in their current time slots on TBS and TNT.

Variety initially reported that the deal is valued at upwards of $150 million per year, though this number appears to be conservative. Dave Meltzer reports that the deal is actually worth $555 million over three years, or approximately $185 million annually, not including revenue from PPV events.

AEW is estimated to earn $95 million in additional revenue from the deal, Meltzer adds, which would leave AEW within a profit window of between $61 million to $76 million in 2025. It’s added that this window could be slightly lower if attendance, merchandise sales, or pay-per-view sales decline in the coming years.

In recent years, AEW has seen a worrying record of declining attendance figures, though has a reason for sticking with large arenas. Similarly, AEW has seen a fall in its ratings, with this week’s fifth anniversary of Dynamite seeing a drop from last week’s episode (702,000 to 680,000 according to PW Torch) despite a stacked card including multiple title matches.

It’s worth considering that these are estimated figures, and since AEW is not a publicly traded company, they are under no obligation to disclose their real numbers. Nevertheless, these figures certainly paint a bright future for AEW, Tony Khan, and the company’s roster of talented individuals.

AEW President Tony Khan sat down with Going Ringside With The Local Station this week to discuss a variety of topics related to AEW. When asked about reports of the promotion reaching a new deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, Khan confirmed with absolute certainty that AEW will remain on TBS and TNT for the foreseeable future.

“It’s an exciting time for AEW, we’re coming into the future. But I can tell you that 100% AEW is moving forward with TBS and TNT. They’ve been great partners and you can count on us.”

On The Support of His Father

While Khan works alongside his father Shad with the Jacksonville Jaguars, it wasn’t until this year that the elder Khan appeared for AEW. While Tony wishes his father’s debut had come under better circumstances than his ambush by The Elite, the younger Khan said his father has always supported the promotion and it “means the world [to me] that he’s so bought into AEW.”

On Mercedes Mone

After appearing in the crowd at AEW All In: London 2023, Mercedes Mone officially joined AEW in March of this year at the Big Business: Dynamite. As TBS Champion and NJPW Strong Women’s Champion, Mone has proven to be a force to be reckoned with, one that Khan is pleased to be working with.

“I think she’s one of the greatest pro wrestlers in the entire world. She’s a huge, huge star, a huge signing for AEW… She’s just at the top of her profession right now.”

On The Retirement of Sting

At AEW Revolution 2024, Sting competed in his final wrestling match; teaming with Darby Allin to defeat The Young Bucks in an emotional send-off. Khan was unsurprisingly thrilled with how Sting’s last match went and called it one of the greatest moments of AEW’s entire five-year history.

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.

• Tony Khan Teases Creating A Shockwave After Latest Trademark Filing

People at AEW are firing back at the report made by an entertainment website earlier today stating that Tony Khan was disappointed at the initial offer made to him by Warner Bros Discovery.

According to AEW sources close to Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer, Khan was not upset by WBD’s first offer, but negotiations are still ongoing between the two parties. The report regarding Khan’s supposed mentality on the matter came from Matthew Belloni of The Puck, who noted that WBD’s exclusivity window with AEW is closing in July. He also added that Khan and Warner Bros are “playing nice” with one another as negotiations continue.

• Next Themed AEW Dynamite Will Promote WBD Property

Meltzer added into his report that Belloni previously had WWE CEO Nick Khan on his podcast and that the two are supposedly longtime friends.

There is concern that WBD CEO David Zaslav may bungle the AEW deal for WBD as the executive has been heavily criticized for likely losing the rights deal for the NBA.

Just last month, Zaslav sent a memo to Warner Bros Discovery executives to look for cost-cutting measures after ending 2023 in debt. However, there could be some great viability in locking AEW in a new deal considering that live television is a hot commodity during this always changing era of the streaming service.

On the latest media call with Tony Khan ahead of Double or Nothing, the AEW President expressed a desire to ink a new deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, but there might be a high-demand for the AEW package in the open market.

Coming off a successful Double or Nothing pay-per-view, AEW will look to capitalize on Sunday night’s momentum with it’s next edition of AEW Dynamite on Wednesday. However, this week’s episode of Dynamite will not just be any old episode, as it’ll be a House of Dragon-themed episode. 

For those who don’t know,  House of Dragon is an HBO series that serves as a prequel to its famous Game of Thrones series. As the House of Dragon is set to begin it’s second season on June 16th, AEW and WBD are taking the opportunity to promote the show on AEW’s flagship program. 

In a statement on X, AEW President Tony Khan commented on the upcoming episode, announcing the main event of the episode, which will feature AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland taking on The Patriarchy’s Killswitch. 

TOMORROW#AEWDynamite
Los Angeles
8pm ET/7pm CT @TBSNetwork

Presented by HBO's @HouseofDragon@thekiaforum is Whose House?

AEW World Champion @swerveconfident vs @luchasaurus

After Swerve retained the World Title at #AEWDoN, Killswitch aims for payback in LA on TBS, TOMORROW!… pic.twitter.com/8d7pZtd9iq

— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) May 28, 2024

This is not the first time All Elite Wrestling has held a Game of Thrones-themed edition of Dynamite. Since 2020, the promotion has held a “Winter is Coming” special of Dynamite every December. The phrase is synonymous with the HBO series and has been the backdrop of several memorable matches and moments in AEW history. 

One moment that stands out is the AEW debut of The Icon Sting in 2020, marking the legend’s return to TNT after nearly 20 years.

As noted, this week’s main event will pit Swerve Strickland against the heavy of Christian Cage’s Patriarchy faction, Killswitch. Cage was unsuccessful in dethroning Strickland in their intense World Heavyweight Championship match in Las Vegas. 

Are AEW and WBD a marriage made to be? Or a Red Wedding? 

Khan had subtly mentioned that a House of Dragon-themed episode of Dynamite was in the works during the Double or Nothing Media Scrum, following questions from the media regarding AEW’s ongoing TV rights negotiations with Warner Brothers Discovery. 

When speaking publicly, Tony Khan has only been incredibly positive when discussing his relationship with WBD, citing that AEW enjoys working with them and would like to continue the partnership. 

Early Tuesday, reports emerged from Matthew Belloni of Puck News that Khan was “unhappy” with the initial offers produced by WBD. While later reports from both WrestleNomics and Wrestling Observer stated that this wasn’t the case, they each confirmed that no deal had yet been reached.  

While a deal between WBD and AEW seems to be the best-case scenario for all parties involved, if WWE’s recent media rights deals have taught us anything, it’s that truly anything can happen in this space. 

Warner Bros. Discovery is aiming to secure AEW programming but is Tony Khan picking up with CEO David Zaslav is laying down?

Matthew Belloni of the entertainment website Puck News is hearing that the exclusive rights window between AEW and Warner Bros. Discovery is closing despite the latter wanting to keep five hours of AEW programming on their television product.

However, Belloni is reporting that AEW President Tony Khan is currently disappointed with the current offer on the table from WBD and that Khan is awre of the leverage AEW has since Zaslav lost the NBA rights for Turner Sports.

On the recent media call before Double Or Nothing, Khan praised executives as WBD and remained optimistic about the two parties coming together on a deal.

Belloni notes that both sides are “playing nice” with one another for the time being, and plays both sides of the coin when it comes to AEW’s value to other networks or being a viable suitor due to WWE’s relationship with several media properties.

• Tony Khan Wants Bryan Danielson To Stay In AEW Forever

Whether a savvy move or not, Zaslav’s low offer to AEW makes sense considering the report that he issued an order for all departments in WBD to look at cost-cutting measures moving further into 2024.

AEW inked their first deal with WBD back in 2020, and the company has made sure to create a lot of synergy between their product and the other properties that WBD has had to offer including Game Of Thrones, Mad Max, and the aforementioned NBA. 

Warner Bros. Discovery will be undergoing some financial shifting in 2024 and it’s from the order of their CEO David Zazlov.

Bloomsberg is reporting that Zazlov has told the WBD brass to look for viable cost-cutting opportunities so the company can hit its financial targets over the course of the next couple of years.

This includes the possibilty of layoffs, something in which WBD had done over the last year. The company laid off 2,000 employees through 2023. By the end of the year, WBD was $44.2 billion with $4.3 billion cash-on-hand.

According to sources from Bloomsberg, Warner Bros. Discovery streaming department alone contains a great deal of the budget, adding up to over hundred of millions of dollars. A huge portion of that is focused in the marketing and technology work that’s involved.

• AEW Exiting Exclusive Television Negotiation Window With WBD

Warner Bros. Discovery could be seeing some major changes forthcoming as they were unable to negotiate a new deal with the National Basketball Association within their exclusive window. Being a live sports entity, NBA will be a hot ticket to acquire from competitors with several names mentioned to be in the mix including NBCUniversal and Amazon.

The fact that the NBA could be gone from WBD’s catalogue initially seemed promising for AEW, but if the company lieutenants feel AEW isn’t delivering as a return on investment, “cost-cutting” may be applied. to their weekly pro wrestling product.

NBC will be sitting pretty with a big live sports entity as not only will SmackDown be heading to USA Network in 2025, but RAW will also be sticking around until they make the leap to Netflix.

There are some early-on talks being made about the possibility of Warner Bros. Discovery merging with Paramount Global.

Axios learned from multiple sources that CEO David Zaslav met with Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakis on December 19 about the idea of merging the two television powerhouses.

WBD plays host to TNT, TBS and HBO while Paramount controls CBS, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central so together the duo could really pack a punch for continuing and prospective customers. However, where does it all leave AEW and WWE?

Whenever a wrestling fan hears the term “merger” it could cause cold sweats because of the infamous AOL-Time Warner fusion that ultimately ended WCW. That changed the landscape of the business solely WWE. However, in this case, the move may bode well for perhaps both promotions.

It was believed that WWE would soon sign its Raw television rights over to WBD, but nothing has happened as of yet. It appears by past actions Zaslav has an appreciation for pro wrestling and if WBD were to mergr with Paramount, they’re the primary bread winner between the brands. WBD earnings are valued around $29 billion while Paramount is around $10 million. That’s likely an indicator that Zaslav would at least want to sign one promotion. 

However, in the same turn,  the fact that there may still be interest in AEW could allow Paramount to host AEW programming while Raw airs every Monday could be on TNT. In that regard, AEW’s brand identity doesn’t get diminished or discarded.

What would it mean for AEW if their relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery was to end next year? 

Since launching, AEW has been allied with Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of TNT and TBS. Tony Khan has shown immense loyalty to WBD and when looking for a TV deal for Ring of Honor, only approached WBD-owned broadcasters. 

AEW & Warner Bros. Discovery

WWE is currently on the hunt for a new broadcast partner for Monday Night Raw, with the red brand’s deal with the USA Network set to expire next year. With the USA Network set to become the home of SmackDown, it is believed that the network will not renew its deal with Raw. Speaking on his Rumor & Innuendo podcast, Nick Hausman addressed what could be next for AEW’s relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery if talks with WWE prove fruitful. 

“From what I gathered, Tony was getting quite a big part of the ad revenue for Dynamite early on, which when the new people came in [after WBD merger], they were like, ‘Whoa, how did you get this deal? We don’t really want to continue on with this, If this is going to be the ad rev share that we’re going to be doing’ So you’ve got that. You’ve got the NBA stuff.

“I also have been told by a couple people for months, that there is the belief that Warner has some kind of investment in AEW. Tony has 100% control of the company, but at a certain point, Warner made some kind of investment I’m speculating, guessing maybe to recoup a little bit of what they were losing with the ad share.

“So while I don’t, well again….it was told to me that this meeting that appears to be what Dave is referencing [between WWE and WBD], and got everybody all worked up about did not happen. There are other indicators to me that things are not going maybe as Tony is projecting publicly, and I would not be surprised to see AEW and Warner may be part ways next year.”

For the use of quotes, please give an H/T to SE Scoops. 

AEW confirmed via an announcement on Friday night that their shows will no longer be airing through broadcaster Space in several countries.

The company sent out a press release on Twitter, confirming that fans in Mexico, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean will no longer have access to AEW programming through space:

“To our fans in Mexico, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean… we want to thank you for watching AEW on Space. However, we have an update to share. As of September 30, AEW content will no longer be available on Space, with the exception of Brazil.”

The press release noted that fans will still be able to watch all their weekly shows on AEW Plus through a subscription.

Update: Dave Meltzer noted on Twitter that the call was made by AEW. The company believes that it will make more money by leaving the Space Network:

The timing of this change is very curious. There has been a lot of discussion surrounding the recent Warner Bros Discovery merger. People have been debating how it may affect AEW’s relationship with the network.

The timing of the announcement also suggests that it’s something that the company doesn’t want the fans to pay much attention to.

So AEW abruptly ending its relationship with a Warner-owned network in several countries is something that’s garnering people’s attention.

There is now curiosity over the promotion’s next move in these regions and where the AEW programming can end up. We will keep you posted on any updates.