Tag: Paramount WBD sale

Tony Khan says Paramount acquiring WBD will be ‘great for AEW’

Posted on by Josh Nason

While the deal has yet to be closed, AEW head Tony Khan is looking forward to the day when Paramount Skydance officially acquires Warner Bros. Discovery.

While in New York to promote Sunday’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view in Queens, New York, Khan appeared on a short segment on Bloomberg TV‘s The Close to talk about AEW business.

During that conversation, he was asked about the changes given Paramount’s business relationships with WWE owners TKO, but Khan remains positive the merger will be a positive for his company.

“I am very excited about Paramount acquiring WB and Paramount and WB coming together. This is going to be great for AEW,” later answering “100%” when asked if he thinks Paramount will stick by AEW post-merger.

During the conversation, he reiterated past statements about his strong relationship with Paramount head David Ellison through their NFL ties.

The current AEW/WBD domestic rights deal runs through 2027 with WBD holding a one year extension option. There is currently no wrestling programming on Paramount Plus or its current networks.

“With the power of HBO Max and Paramount Plus together, it’s more buyers for our PPVs and more people watching the AEW shows. I think it will make TBS and TNT stronger cable channels with Paramount and David Ellison coming in,” Khan said.

The proposed acquisition is making its way through the process now with more hurdles for both sides to overcome.

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.