All Elite Wrestling’s first media rights contract is nearing expiration. Shortly after launching in 2019 with the inaugural AEW Double or Nothing, AEW landed a television deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to premiere its flagship show, AEW Dynamite, that fall. Since then, AEW has expanded its relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery, adding weekly in-ring products like AEW Rampage and AEW Collision while also airing a reality-based series entitled AEW All Access. On August 10th, AEW wrestlers will have a big presence on the premiering TNT Overdrive series. Despite all of this expansion with its current contract, AEW has yet to extend its media rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery.
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Tony Khan Teases AEW’s “Most Important Deal” is Imminent
That extension could be coming shortly.
Speaking to Q101’s Brian & Kenzie Morning Show, AEW President Tony Khan teased that his company’s “most important deal” is imminent.
“Right now is the most important time ever in AEW. We’re on the verge of the most important deal we’ll ever make, this upcoming media rights, and it’s been great working with Warner Brothers Discovery on the future,” Khan said. “For all these years, we’ve had so much great experience with Warner Brothers Discovery, and now, under the leadership of David Zaslav, the company, for us, the connection, the things we’ve been able to do, I think it’s getting stronger and stronger.”
Warner Bros. Discovery’s exclusive negotiating window with AEW recently lapsed, meaning Khan is free to shop AEW to other potential suitors. That said, Khan has given no indication that he is interested in taking AEW to another broadcast partner.
“I think now, over five years, it’s really been building to this point where AEW’s going to jump into the media rights and be a very profitable, successful company that has lived up to every expectation we ever could have had because we’ve done so many amazing things in this years,” Khan continued. “We’ve had all these amazing pay-per-view records. We’ve really come in and we’ve done pay-per-view numbers, whether adjusted or straight-up, head-to-head, very strong compared to the last few years of WCW, and I think that’s really a success story.”
Pay-per-views are expected to play a key role in AEW’s next broadcast contract. With WWE premium live events on Peacock, NJPW pay-per-views on NJPW WORLD, and TNA premium live events on TNA+, AEW is just about the only major wrestling company today without a streaming partnership for its monthly specials. Khan has long proclaimed he hopes to bring AEW’s entire content library, as well as its live pay-per-views, to Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max.
