AEW & WBD reportedly agree to multi-year TV rights deal
Several updates are available regarding a new AEW media rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery.
Puck’s John Ourand published a report yesterday stating that a formal announcement of the long-awaited deal could come as soon as next week, barring any last-minute changes.
The deal is reportedly for four years, three of which are guaranteed with an option for a fourth with an annual value “in the ballpark” of $170 million.
Other key figures of the deal according to Ourand’s report:
- AEW programming will air on TNT, TBS & TruTV twice a week, part of a WBD strategy to make TBS and TruTV more sports-oriented
- There was no mention of AEW pay-per-views airing on the Max streaming service
- AEW is also pitching a package to broadcast channels
“This deal marks a clear success for AEW, which launched five years ago with a threshold WBD deal,” Ourand wrote.
Our own Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discussed Ourand’s report on today’s episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, with Meltzer noting a key part of the deal will be whether AEW’s pay-per-views are included in what WBD receives for the $170 million paid annually.
“If it’s $170 million not including the pay-per-views, that’s one number. If that includes the pay-per-views, it’s not as big of an increase, it’s not really technically a (doubling of the rights fees they’d received previously), but it would be a substantial increase,” Meltzer said on the show.
Another potential source of revenue growth for AEW, Meltzer continued, is in international media rights agreements, particulary on stations and in countries where WWE’s programming will be moving to Netflix.
“When it comes to the international days, next year opens up a lot of content, only because WWE will be getting out all of those international deals: Canada, UK, India, everywhere, Australia, Phillipines, whatever country. International TV is not a giant number, it’s not a big number for AEW, it can grow bigger. The WWE deal in India and the UK are both substantial numbers,” he continued.
According to the numbers in Ourand’s report, the new media rights agreement will make AEW the most profitable company in the history of wrestling other than WWE.
“As far as next year 2025, (AEW) would be the largest grossing pro-wrestling company in history other than WWE, and it would actually be larger than WWE was until the Austin era. Inflation makes that sort of a misleading statement but as far as profitability goes, it would be the most profitable company that there has ever been in pro wrestling except for WWE,” Meltzer continued.
A clip from today’s Wrestling Observer Radio is available below:
