Tony Khan ‘thrilled’ with Paramount-WBD merger news
An update is available regarding Tony Khan’s reaction to the proposed purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount.
Dave Meltzer addressed the AEW president’s reaction to the news in this week’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, noting that while Khan was said to be “thrilled” with the news, others believe that Paramount could, due to pressure from TKO given its contracts with UFC and Zuffa Boxing, move to get rid of WWE’s only significant wrestling competition.
Meltzer wrote:
“The most important news story in wrestling, as far as the future and viability of AEW, is just a tiny piece of the puzzle in the proposed Paramount purchase of WBD.
There is a ton of speculation as to what it means. Those close to Tony Khan say that he was thrilled when the news came out, feeling this was the best possible scenario for him. Others are claiming it’s the death knell because Paramount, either to cut back on costs, or due to pressure from TKO given they have contracts with UFC and Zuffa Boxing, will get rid of TKO’s only real significant wrestling competition.”
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has said the plan is for HBO Max and Paramount+ to merge into a single streaming service.
According to a report from January, HBO Max has approximately 135 million worldwide subscribers, 59 million of which are in the U.S., while Paramount+ has 79 million worldwide subscribers, 35.8 million of which are in the U.S.
This week’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is available here for subscribers.
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.