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With AEW Dynamite’s 5th Anniversary episode coming up on Oct. 2 in Pittsurgh, Pa., there’s a lot of anticipation within the pro wrestling industry that AEW president Tony Khan will announce the new deal with Warner Bros. Discover (WBD) then.
Khan, at the All Out Media Q&A after All Out on Saturday night, told gathered media that “there’s a lot of great things happening in the business of AEW right now. … I feel really really strong about the future of the company and our media rights.” He directed media to ask him questions about that topic in particular.
“We’re still in very, very close and exciting negotiations with Warner Bros. Discover,” he said. “It’s been going on throughout the summer that we’ve been having these conversations. It’s a very detailed package we’re having discussions about. AEW has grown so much.”
He talked about the history of wrestling on TBS over the course of 50 years. “Things are moving really really well,” he said. He noted he has not put pen to paper, though.
“We sit in a really good place,” he said. “I feel like we’re on the one yard line. I’m not sure how many snaps it’s going to take to punch the ball into the end zone, but I’m 100 percent sure the ball is going into the end zone.”
He said AEW has expanded and changed, going from two hours of programming each week on TNT to five hours of programming on both TNT and TBS. “I think it’s safe to say AEW is here to stay on TNT and TBS. I think that’s true for very long time. I have not put pen to paper. It’s a very exciting time. … I’m very grateful to Warner Bros. Discovery.”
Multiple reports in recent weeks, including from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer and Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, have ranged from saying a deal is on the table for AEW to sign to a deal is already done. Reports of a potential near doubling of right fees part of the deal might sound better than it actually will be for AEW as there is a possibility that rights to AEW’s PPVs will be included in the new deal.
So AEW might be giving up some of the revenue they now earn from PPV events for the increase in rights fees from WBD, which could include some or all of AEW’s PPV events on the WBD-owned streaming service Max as part of an existing Max subscription or perhaps with an additional fee, as UFC has structured into it’s deal with ESPN+.
There is also speculation that another AEW program will launch called “AEW Shockwave,” as AEW recently trademarked that. Although a deal on the broadcast network Fox is highly unlikely, an AEW show on cable channel FoxSports1 or the Tubi streaming channel, both of which are owned by Fox, could be a home for an AEW show. Fox’s relationship with WWE ended last week, and if they are interested in a scaled-back inclusion of pro wrestling in their portfolio, working with AEW is an alternative that could work for both parties.
Regarding the “AEW Shockwave” trademark, when asked Khan raised his eye-brows. He said AEW is set to create a shockwave throughout all of pro wrestling, but didn’t get specific beyond that.
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