Tony Khan Reveals AEW Lost Money on Streaming Free Shows Via B/R Live
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) looks to have a bright future on the horizon. The budding wrestling [...]
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) looks to have a bright future on the horizon. The budding wrestling promotion is currently gearing up for its next pay-per-view All Out, which sold out the Sears Center outside of Chicago, Illinois in mere minutes. Fast forward to Oct. 2 when the promotion's two-hour weekly live show will premiere on the TNT network at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. (which also sold out quickly).
But even with all of the momentum the company has, AEW president Tony Khan revealed that there have been a couple of bumps in the road thus far. In an interview with Decider at the Television Critics Association's presentation, Khan revealed that he took a financial hit by broadcasting both Fyter Fest and Fight for the Fallen on the B/R Live streaming service for free over the summer. However, he added that he still stands by the decision.
"In terms of putting shows out there for free, we took a bath financially on that and I took a big hit," Khan said. "And I was willing to do it as a company because I believed in our brand of wrestling."
Khan added that his goal is to elevate the AEW brand to "where WCW was" before its downfall as a promotion.
"There hasn't been a legitimate other company [besides WWE] presenting weekly, high quality wrestling, and never before was HD available," Khan said. "...The revenue streams are going to be huge."
The promotion announced its premiere date on TNT during its TCA presentation.
"Focused on fast-paced, high-impact competitions, AEW offers fans more athleticism along with real sports analytics," a press release on the announcement read. "Wrestlers are also given freedom to explore their characters and highlight their athletic abilities. Introducing statistics to wrestling for the first time ever, AEW will raise the stakes for its matches and deepen fan engagement by tracking each competitor's wins and losses as wrestlers pursue championships. Their moves and damage to their opponents will also be analyzed on-air to provide insights into their winning streaks."
As of Tuesday AEW has announced six matches for the All Out pay-per-view. The bouts include Chris Jericho vs. Adam Page for the inaugural AEW World Championship, Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks vs. The Lucha Brothers in a ladder match, Cody Rhodes vs. Shawn Spears, Darby Allin vs. Joey Janela vs. Jimmy Havoc and The Best Friends vs. The Dark Order.
