Tag: AEW on WBD

HBO Max & Paramount+ streaming platforms would merge if sale goes through

Posted on by Josh Nason

While the world is still months away from Paramount Skydance officially being cleared to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, an intriguing part of that potential future was revealed on Monday.

Paramount Skydance head David Ellison revealed during a conference call that both the Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming services would combine post-sale. No details about a potential name, cost or timeframe were revealed other than noting the HBO brand would remain intact and will likely remain as a sub-brand according to reporting from CNBC’s Alex Sherman.

The combined power of TNT Sports and CBS Sports was also mentioned on the call.

HBO Max has 131 million subscribers while Paramount+ has 79 million with a very light overlap according to Antenna data relayed by Sherman.

For wrestling fans, all of this potentially matters because of the AEW relationship and investment that WBD has in the company (less than 10% or it would need to be reported). It’s unclear if that investment divests if the sale goes through or if Paramount Skydance would retain the investment.

AEW currently simulcasts on both TBS/TNT and HBO Max with the streaming service also acting as a gateway for U.S. fans to buy AEW pay-per-views (along with Prime Video, YouTube and PPV.com). The current TV rights contract runs through 2027 with WBD holding an option to extend through 2028.

Paramount Skydance doesn’t have any other wrestling properties, but has a relationship to TKO through both their UFC and Zuffa Boxing deals.

TKO head Mark Shapiro had previously speculated about UFC events airing on TNT if a deal was to go through, mentioning both TNT and HBO’s association with sports at an event Monday. AEW Collision currently airs on Saturdays on TNT which would make things interesting if such a move was of interest to Paramount leadership.

JNPO: What did John Pollock learn about wrestling in 2025?

Posted on by Josh Nason

On a snowed in edition of Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, warm up by the podcast fire with the returning ⁠John Pollock⁠ of ⁠Post Wrestling⁠.

The guys talk for nearly an hour on what they learned about wrestling in 2025 with some hot takes about WWE, AEW, wrestlers, leadership and even some Linkin Park. (Yes, that Linkin Park.)

For example: Is TKO good for WWE and pro wrestling? Is WBD as good a partner to AEW as Netflix is for WWE? What is happening with DWAYNE and Triple H? Why are the rosters so damn bloated in the middle?

Revelations await. Join us.

Click here to listen for free or stream for free on either Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Just search Wrestling Observer.

December 15, 2025 Observer Newsletter: John Cena and El Hijo del Santo’s careers come to an end

Posted on by F4W Staff

Image: WWE

The time is now for the end of the in-ring careers of John Cena and El Hijo del Santo and it’s also time for the new Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Dave Meltzer looks at this Saturday’s grand finales for both Cena and Santo and the completely different roads they took to get here.

Dave also looks at the latest big wrinkles in WBD’s attempts to sell their company, the Paramount hostile bid, and where this all leaves AEW.

He also goes into the math in figuring out CMLL’s one millionth fan, a full NXT Deadline recap, news and more.

Click here to read (sub needed)

AEW media partner puts itself up for sale

Posted on by Josh Nason

In a move that has been expected for quite some time, Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD) — the primary media partner of AEW — has officially put itself up for sale.

It revealed the news in a Tuesday press release, saying they are doing “a review of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value” which is another way of saying they are looking to be sold.

Their previously announced June 2025 plan to split up their various broadcast entities and other properties into two separate publicly traded companies by mid-2026 is still ongoing as the potential sales process proceeds.

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.

In the release, WBD mentioned they had “unsolicited interest” from multiple companies for both the entire WBD company and WBD alone. One of those players is believed to Paramount/Skydance in a story that began brewing in mid-September with a story floating last week that WBD turned down a “lowball offer.” As of this January, Paramount/Skydance will be partners on a seven-year UFC (TKO) media rights deal.

WWE media partner Netflix was also rumored to be involved until their co-CEO threw some cold water on those rumors.

Tony Khan: AEW has ‘great relationships’ with both sides of impending WBD split

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: JJ Williams

If AEW head Tony Khan is concerned about the impending brand split within Warner Bros. Discovery, he isn’t showing it.

Khan spoke with Yahoo Finance during this week’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity where he was asked about the news last week that WBD intends to split off its cable channels into one publicly traded company while their film studios, Max, and other properties are split into another.

While he didn’t give much in the way of insight, Khan said with both sides, “we have great relationships with everybody at the top.” He noted that WBD head David Zaslav (moving to studio side) put their deal together while Gunnar Wiedenfels (moving to cable network side) was very involved as the WBD chief financial officer.

“The two of them and Bruce Campbell really negotiated (their most recent contract) with AEW and myself and my team. So, on both sides, we’ve got the great relationships and both sides that really love AEW and have come to be great partners with AEW,” Khan said.

The proposed split would take effect in mid-2026. AEW is in year one of their latest WBD TV contract that runs through 2027 with an option year for 2028.

Khan noted earlier in the interview that 2025 has been “a huge year for us” and that they “grew the business so much with the simulcast,” creating a new audience with their simulcast with Max in addition to growing their cable audience year-over-year. He said that when their simulcast began in January 2025, people assumed their cable viewership would decrease but that it actually went up.

For subscribers: Dave Meltzer on how the eventual WBD split could affect AEW

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

The following is an excerpt from a subscriber-exclusive story by Dave Meltzer on today’s news from WBD. For the full article, click here.

In a deal that will likely have major ramifications on AEW, although maybe not for a few years, the long-rumored split of WBD into two companies was announced on 6/9.

The actual separation will go into effect at some point in mid-2026.

But as far as long-term of AEW, this is a gigantic story, filled with a lot of questions and no answers.  It’s possible it could have little effect in the big picture and is not expected to have any impact on AEW over the short-term.  If AEW’s television and streaming results are both considered positive in 2027, when the decisions regarding a new deal would have to be made. Positive results also could put AEW into a situation with multiple bidders at that point.

If not, the ramifications couldn’t be bigger and would affect the entire future of the company.

For the full story, click here.

Tony Khan AEW media call: WBD TV deal, ROH’s future, roster split possibility

Posted on by Josh Nason

AEW head Tony Khan spoke to the media for an hour Wednesday ahead of this Saturday’s WrestleDream, touching on the WBD TV rights deal, the TV future for Ring of Honor, and the possibility of a roster split.

The full audio of the call is at the bottom of this post.

Asked if he would consider doing a roster split, Khan said it’s not a bad thought and he’s considered it. He is thinking about roster management, but it’s early to speculate on things given the new TV deal with WBD and what’s to come.

On the WBD deal, he said both sides were happy with what they ultimately worked out. He didn’t have much in the way of details when it came to when and how the pay-per-view component will work on Max, but he’s confident it will be a financial positive for fans. During his answer, he did say that pay-per-views will be part of the streaming library on Max in addition to their regular TV shows which he has not confirmed before.

Asked about the recent question about whether WBD has equity in AEW, Khan said it was a fair question but won’t get into ownership structure, sticking with his line that he has 100% voting stock and has the vast majority of shares.

Asked about the future of ROH TV and if he’s shopping it around, Khan (in a bit of a sprawling answer) didn’t really directly answer and eventually stated there are other deals to be done like the international TV market that have to be made. He is very passionate about ROH and thinks there will be great opportunities for the brand going forward.

Asked about Daniel Garcia staying in AEW, Khan said he understands why he would take time off and consider everything before making a decision. He was happy to retain him in AEW and has a lot of belief in him and his future.

For more of the topics Khan hit on, check out the audio below.

Click here to listen to the call.