Tag: aew tv deal

Tony Khan rejects WWE speculation on TV deal, talks New Day possibly coming to AEW

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Tony Khan and other wrestlers spoke to the media following ROH Supercard of Honor.

Notably, Khan brought up something from the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter regarding people within WWE believing AEW wouldn’t get a TV deal from Paramount when their current television deal expires at the end of 2027. Khan denied those reports while saying he chooses to turn the other cheek regarding the constant speculation.

“I saw a report today saying somebody in WWE is telling people within WWE talking about AEW’s next TV deal and talking about what we’re doing. And I was surprised by that and I’ll say what they said could not be further from the truth and they’re entitled to their opinions,” he said. “I’ve been trying to be respectful to them and try to conduct myself as a gentleman and then for them to go on background and spread these things…I’ll just turn the other cheek, and maybe a couple of years ago I wouldn’t have done it like that.”

Khan also briefly mentioned Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods, who recently departed WWE. Khan said he couldn’t comment because they are still under contract to the company. However, he did say they were great wrestlers, and would say that under any circumstances.

Deonna Purrazzo, Outrunners & Dalton Castle, Red Velvet, Mark Davis, Athena, and Khan all spoke to media following Supercard of Honor on Friday. Here are the highlights:

ROH wrestlers

  • Deonna Purrazzo said that having three women’s titles in ROH was “beyond her wildest dreams.” She’s excited to create what Women’s Pure Rules wrestling looks like in the future.
  • Khan seemed interested in the idea of an all pure wrestling-style HonorClub show, but also brought up the idea of a lot of Pure rules matches on one show, including eliminator bouts.
  • Outrunners & Dalton Castle talked about their Six-Man Tag Team title win on Friday. Castle said this was the one that meant the most to him, while the Outrunners pointed out this was their first title win in either AEW or ROH.
  • Red Velvet said she was excited to face Willow Nightingale on AEW Collision. She said all she needs is space, opportunity, and three seconds.
  • Mark Davis said he was open to any and all challengers for the National title.
  • He also said it was difficult at first to break out as a singles star but there’s nothing else in the world he’d rather do, so it’s been great. Also called Kyle Fletcher one of the best wrestlers in the world.
  • Athena, Diamante, and Billie Starkz all continued teasing dissension with one another.
  • Regarding the Owen Hart Foundation tournament, Athena said she is focusing on building herself up so she knows who she thinks she is and will soon be ready to take over AEW, it is her time and she is tired of waiting.
  • She also mentioned she wanted to surpass Bruno Sammartino’s WWE Championship reign of seven years, saying that was the goal to reach.

Tony Khan

  • Khan said this year’s SuperCard of Honor marked four years since he started with the company and paid tribute to Jay Briscoe, saying he thinks about him every day.
  • Said Lio Rush is doing a fantastic job, it’s been really cool to watch him develop and there’s an audience for what he does.
  • Khan talked more about the visa issues with Mortos and Komander, saying they still haven’t gotten their appointments yet. He again brought up the idea of defending the titles in Mexico.
  • When talking about the upcoming Sammy Guevara/Darby Allin match on Collision, Khan told a story about a Daily’s Place episode during COVID where only ten people were allowed in the building, saying that Sammy Guevara and Kenny Omega went over 25 minutes in the main event.
  • He said ROH’s move to Jacksonville has been great for the locker room and this group of younger talent. 
  • Regarding an ROH television deal, he said they have a great set of wrestlers and champions and the way media is moving right now, there are more opportunities for ROH than ever before. He brought up ROH’s successful subscriber numbers. He got offers to put ROH on cable before, but it has to be the right situation. He is excited for Paramount to be merging with Warner Bros. Discovery, saying “you couldn’t ask for better management,” while putting over David Ellison. He painted HBO Max and AEW as challenger brands.
  • Said Zayda Steel really stepped up and also put Persephone over, saying it was unfortunate she got injured at the hands of the Triangle of Madness. 
  • Khan reiterated that his new approach lately has been turning the other cheek, saying that he thought about Jesus more following Jay Briscoe’s death and has tried to apply that to his life. He says he’s not perfect but still tries to apply it.

AEW & ITV announce extension of UK TV deal

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Heading into the new year, AEW has reached an agreement to extend its television deal in the United Kingdom.

It was announced today that AEW and ITV have extended their existing media rights deal for 2025. ITV has been AEW’s broadcast partner in the UK since the promotion launched in 2019, and Dynamite and Collision will continue to air tape-delayed on ITV4 and ITVX.

“ITV will continue to show weekly episodes of AEW programming, with AEW Dynamite every Friday night and AEW Collision every Wednesday night on ITV4 and ITVX,” a press release said. “The renewal for 2025 takes ITV into its sixth year as AEW’s free-to-air UK partner, first broadcasting AEW Dynamite in 2019.”

In the press release, Tony Khan was quoted as saying: “We are thrilled to extend AEW’s partnership with ITV to continue bringing the best wrestling action to fans all across the United Kingdom. We thank all of our incredible fans in the UK as well as everyone at ITV for their loyal support of AEW since our inception.”

Richard Botchway, Commissioning Editor at ITV, added: “We are proud to continue to be the UK free-to-air broadcast partner for AEW. We’re looking forward to continuing our relationship into 2025, bringing the UK audience every minute of action across ITV and ITVX.”

While ITV is AEW’s free-to-air partner in the country, UK viewers are able to watch Dynamite and Collision live if they subscribe to Triller’s AEW Plus service.

The first AEW TV episode of 2025 will be a special Fight for the Fallen edition of Dynamite from Asheville, North Carolina on New Year’s Day. In the United States, that will be the first AEW show simulcast live on Max in addition to its regular airing on TBS.

Chris Jericho: There’s nothing better for the business than AEW’s new TV deal

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Chris Jericho believes AEW’s new media rights deal is a good thing for the entire pro wrestling industry.

With an average annual value of $185 million, the new deal was announced by AEW and Warner Bros. Discovery last week. It’s a three-year agreement that includes an option for a fourth year. The deal keeps AEW Dynamite and Collision on their respective homes of TBS and TNT — and both shows will also be simulcast on Max starting in January 2025.

Jericho appeared on Wednesday’s Busted Open Radio and gave his thoughts on the new deal. He believes that a thriving AEW is what’s best for fans and everyone involved with pro wrestling:

  • I think we proved a lot of so-called ‘experts’ — we made them look like idiots. We knew what was going on with this. The landscape changes constantly, numbers go up, numbers go down. But the overall demo of what AEW brings to the table as a live sporting event is invaluable. So we knew that it was something that people would want to be involved with and be a part of, and Warner Bros. Discovery didn’t want to let us go anywhere.
  • And you can see, I mean, $185 million a year for a company that’s only been going for five years, that’s never happened before. Ever. Obviously WWE is the standard, the gold standard. They didn’t have a deal like that five years in. Nobody else has. So with all the growing pains — good and bad — that AEW has, we’re still such a young company. And that, to me, showed that we have a real commitment. We’re not going anywhere. Tony Khan’s not going anywhere. I’m not going anywhere, much to some people’s chagrin. And neither is the rest of the company. And I think it’s going to be a really great next 3-5 years. And, listen, Tommy [Dreamer] and Bully [Ray] know, there’s nothing worse than if AEW didn’t get a great television deal. There’s nothing better for the business, the fans, for you guys [than] for AEW to be thriving and to be healthy. And we are.

As part of the deal between AEW and WBD, AEW pay-per-views will be offered live on Max at a “discounted price per event” starting at some point in 2025.

AEW has also had talks with Fox about a potential new show, which would be called AEW Shockwave.

Wrestling Observer Radio: AEW TV deal Q&A

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

Dave Meltzer and I are back with our Friday episode of Wrestling Observer Radio. We talked about all the big news in today’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and took questions from subscribers about the AEW TV deal.

Here were some of the things we covered:

  • AEW library on Max
  • PPVs on Max, plus pricepoints
  • Audience for cable viewing plus streaming viewing
  • Possibility of a Fox deal
  • WWE’s NXT deal by comparison
  • How the shows will be simulcast
  • AEW Dynamite rating
  • Dave’s new book on 1984
  • WON HOF ballot
  • NXT Title Tuesday vs. NXT

Click here to listen (sub needed) or watch on YouTube (video sub needed)

Wrestling Observer Live: AEW TV deal, Dynamite notes, Max Smashmaster!

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including a bunch of notes on the new AEW television deal and what it means for the company, AEW Dynamite notes from Wednesday night, plus we are joined by MAX SMASHMASTER! Love wrestling from 1995? We have a show for you. A fun time as always so check it out~!

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Update on value of new AEW-WBD media rights deal

Posted on by Joseph Currier

On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer gave an update on how much AEW is being paid by Warner Bros. Discovery in its new media rights deal.

The deal was announced on Wednesday and is a three-year agreement with an option for a fourth year. Meltzer reports that the deal is worth $555 million over those three years at an average of $185 million per year.

“$555 million over three years,” Meltzer said. “Average $185 million a year. It starts lower, the middle year will probably be about that, and then the third year would be up from that. And the fourth year would be way up. I’m presuming it includes the buying of the pay-per-view in that figure.”

Dynamite and Collision will remain on their respective homes of TBS and TNT in the deal. Those shows will also stream live on streaming service Max for U.S. subscribers starting in January 2025.

Starting later in 2025, AEW PPVs will be offered live on Max at a “discounted price per event.” All marketing and promotions of the PPVs will be exclusively centered on Max. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO of U.S. Networks Kathleen Finch told the Hollywood Reporter that the launch date for AEW PPVs on Max is to be determined because the technology to offer the shows is still being developed.

Rampage is expected to be discontinued with the new deal. A new show, AEW Shockwave, could potentially land on Fox.

Wrestling Observer Radio: AEW/WBD TV rights breakdown, Dynamite & NXT recaps

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Image: AEW

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including all the details on AEW’s new TV deal, your questions, who the people in the mystery vignettes on RAW and NXT were, UFC this coming Saturday, full reviews of AEW Dynamite and NXT, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!

Timestamps:

Start: Questions on new AEW media rights deal with WBD
30:29: Sammy Guevara & Kelly Madan injured during ROH tapings
31:43: Ratings
38:03: Viking Raiders & Delta vignettes, CMLL from Tuesday night, UFC this weekend
46:16: AEW Dynamite recap
1:09:01: WWE NXT recap
1:18:20: Rampage spoilers, WWE Bad Blood lineup

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Wrestling Observer Radio: Pete Rose passes away, Okada vs. Danielson, injury updates

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the death of WWE Hall of Famer Pete Rose, Luchasaurus/Killswitch being hospitalized, Ilja Dragunov tearing his ACL, Shane McMahon, the AEW/WBD TV deal, Bryan Danielson vs. Okada on two days’ notice, King of Pro Wrestling, Kanye West watching wrestling, ratings, the WWE Raw report and tons more.

A fun show as always so check it out~!

Timestamps:

Timestamps:
Start: Pete Rose passes away
6:02: Luchasaurus hospitalized with pneumonia, people in wrestling affected by Hurricane Helene
8:55: Ilja Dragunov sidelined, note on Shane McMahon
10:44: AEW media rights deal update, Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada on Wednesday
20:38: Ratings
24:49: NJPW King of Pro Wrestling lineup, Kanye West attends NOAH event, Stalker Ishikawa retiring
31:40: Hijo del Vikingo back in action
33:19: Start time for WWE Bad Blood, WWE Raw report, NXT CW premiere lineup

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Wrestling Weekly: Looking ahead to AEW Grand Slam and big things in WWE & NXT

Posted on by Victor Sosa

Image: AEW

On a new Wrestling Weekly, we are looking ahead to the future.

Can Nigel McGuinness pull off the upset against his greatest rival in Bryan Danielson at next week’s AEW Grand Slam? We’ll make the case for that result and more as we look ahead to the show, and discuss all the talk about the WBD TV rights deal.

Plus, Les Thatcher & I look ahead to what’s been announced for this Monday’s WWE Raw and all the happenings there this week.

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!

Click here to listen (sub needed)

AEW TV deal update: WBD, PPVs, potential Fox component

Posted on by Joseph Currier

On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer gave an update on where things stand with AEW’s impending new media rights deal.

Meltzer reports that AEW & Warner Bros. Discovery have reached an agreement for their new deal. It looks like the deal will include a pay-per-view component, though Meltzer doesn’t know the exact specifics regarding how PPVs will be handled.

“Everyone knows, but the WBD deal is a done deal,” Meltzer said. “There are going to be changes, from what I gather there is going to be a pay-per-view component in this deal. Exactly what it is, I don’t know. But if they’re doubling the number [of the past media rights deal] and WBD is getting the rights to the pay-per-views, that makes doubling the number make more sense in a lot of ways — if they get that. I don’t know exactly if it’s going to be how UFC does it, if it’s going to be how WWE does it. But there is going to be a deal with Max with the pay-per-views in some form, is what it looks like.”

Since AEW applied to trademark “AEW Shockwave” last week, there have been rumors that AEW is in discussions for an additional show that would air on a Fox network. Meltzer does not believe that a deal between AEW and Fox is done yet. If the new show does come to fruition, Meltzer suspects it would not be on the main Fox network, instead airing on a different Fox channel or streaming platform.

“The Fox deal is not done. I know a lot of people have been talking about the idea on the Fox network. I would strongly suspect — I do not know — but I would very strongly suspect it would not be on the Fox network,” Meltzer said. “It would probably be another station, whether it’s FS1, whether it’s a different station, whether it’s a streaming component, I don’t know. And I don’t believe it’s a done deal either. I think it’s something that they’re working on. Although as far as the Shockwave thing, they did trademark the name of Shockwave. So they have to be pretty darn close to a deal to actually go to the lengths of trademarking the name.”

Tony Khan: ’90 percent’ chance of AEW media rights deal announcement in the next month

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Image: JJ Williams

A new AEW media rights deal may finally be near.

During an abbreviated All Out media scrum on Saturday, a reporter asked Tony Khan to give the probability of announcing a new media rights deal in the next month. Khan responded that he was “90 percent” sure that would happen. 

“Like I said, I feel we are on the one-yard line,” he later explained. “I’m not sure how many snaps it’s going to take to punch the ball into the end zone…I’m 100 percent sure the ball is going into the end zone and based on the timetable you gave me, I don’t know. You put me on the spot. But that’s how good I feel about the media rights.”

Khan at the end of Friday’s Collision & Rampage tapings said that “AEW on TBS and TNT I think is here to stay.” He reiterated those comments during the media scrum.

“I have not put pen to paper. I’m still working on things,” he said. “It’s an exciting time without getting too specific, but while giving everybody that anticipation of things to come.”

Only Khan took questions during Saturday’s scrum and answered a few other questions unrelated to AEW’s media rights negotiations before leaving early. One person asked about the recently filed AEW Shockwave trademark. Khan replied simply that AEW is set to create a shockwave following the events that took place at All Out.

Another question was regarding Britt Baker, who has been gone from AEW television since losing to Mercedes Mone at All In last month. Khan said that Baker was an important part of AEW and to keep an eye out on her.

Tony Khan: ‘AEW on TBS and TNT I think is here to stay’

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Tony Khan isn’t being subtle about how negotiations are going between AEW & Warner Bros. Discovery.

At the end of Friday’s Collision and Rampage, Tony Khan appeared in front of the crowd after cameras stopped rolling. He hinted further that a new television deal between the two parties is coming.

“I feel pretty good to say that AEW on TBS and TNT I think is here to say,” he told the crowd in Chicago.

Khan has repeatedly talked about the negotiations in positive terms during media calls and other interviews as AEW’s current contract is due to expire at the end of the year. During the All Out media call on Thursday, Khan said that the deal is in the red zone and will be a “huge touchdown” for the company, which currently has Dynamite on TBS and Collision & Rampage on TNT. Khan also met with David Zaslav, the head of WBD, in Paris during the Olympic Games.

AEW is set to hold its second pay-per-view in the last three weeks, All Out, this Saturday in Chicago.

Tony Khan explains what new media rights deal would mean for AEW

Posted on by Joseph Currier

In an interview with SportsGrid this week, Tony Khan was asked to explain what a new media rights deal would mean for AEW.

AEW’s current deal with Warner Bros. Discovery is scheduled to expire at the end of 2024. The two sides are in negotiations for a new agreement, and Khan has said they’re “approaching the goal line” on getting it done. He told SportsGrid that finalizing a deal would mean that all of the investment that’s been made in AEW will have more than paid off.

“It’s going to be a huge thing. It will mean that all the investment into AEW has more than paid off. It’ll mean a very secure future for AEW for a very long time to come,” Khan said. “We’re going to get a great media rights deal. We’re having great conversations here. And we have a great home now at Warner Bros. Discovery, and, you know, I think this is a great home for us. I’m really pleased they want us to stay. They’ve made us great offers and we’re having great conversations now. But, you know, with five hours of wrestling every week and streaming, there’s all kinds of things to talk about. It’s really, really very exciting for the future of AEW.”

Khan said he hopes to work with Warner Bros. Discovery for a long time.

“We’re having great conversations with Warner Bros. Discovery. Mr. [David] Zaslav himself has been really great, very engaged,” he said. “And we’re trying to figure this out. It’s a very complicated thing. It’s a big media rights package, and I’m very excited to keep working — hopefully for a long time — with Warner Bros. Discovery. We’re having a great time here and we have a great relationship with the management. Mr. Zaslav in particular has been fantastic to us.”

Click play below to watch SportsGrid’s full interview with Khan:

Wrestling Observer Live: AEW TV deal thoughts, RAW with new Women’s Champion, WWE cuts, more

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including whether AEW should move Collision to three hours, RAW from Monday night with a new Women’s champion and a bunch of different angles, WWE cuts including Cameron Grimes, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!

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