Three major players make bids for primary AEW media partner
The race to acquire AEW media partner Warner Bros. Discovery and further massively change the landscape of both streaming, broadcast and Hollywood heated up even more on Thursday.
The Hollywood Reporter reported that three official bids have come in for WBD from Netflix, NBCUniversal and Paramount/Skydance, noting they vary “for some or all” of WBD. It’s the first official salvo of many expected to come.
WBD essentially put itself up for sale in October.
No details on the bids were revealed, but the New York Post reported that bids were submitted at noon “with deal insiders predicting a winning offer that will likely fall far short of the $30 a share that CEO David Zaslav said he wanted for the media conglomerate.”
They later added that WBD and David Zaslav are “expected to hold two, maybe three rounds of bidding to push the price up above the $23.50 that Paramount Skydance has already offered for the entire company, according to people close to the matter.”
Why this is relevant for wrestling fans is the broadcast future of AEW.
AEW is in year one of their current WBD TV contract that runs through 2027 with an option for 2028 that sees the weekly Dynamite and Collision shows on TBS/TNT simulcast on HBO Max, and the AEW content archives available on HBO Max. That deal also includes AEW PPVs available at a discount for HBO Max subscribers in addition to the new Tailgate Brawl PPV pre-shows that are also simulcast on TNT.
AEW head Tony Khan was both asked by Ariel Helwani on Tuesday and on a media call Thursday about his concerns and insights. Khan continued to be positive and confident about AEW’s relationship with Zaslav, saying they have continued to both grow and integrate into WBD through their changes and that support has been reciprocal.
Both NBCUniversal and Netflix have existing deals with WWE while Paramount kicks off their seven-year deal with TKO-owned UFC in January.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.