AEW TV Partner “May Have Interest” In WWE
With WWE in negotiations over their US TV rights, there might well be interest from AEW’s broadcast partner.
In the United States, WWE programming currently airs on the USA Network and FOX but with negotiations underway over a new rights deal and an impending takeover by Endeavor of the company, all options are believed to be in play.
Current WWE CEO Nick Khan recently commented on the situation, noting that he was still “optimistic” about finding the best deal for the company. But could that deal see WWE and AEW airing on the same networks?
Could AEW and WWE share networks?
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer commented on speculation that Warner Bros Discovery would be interested in bringing WWE to their networks but doesn’t think WWE will want any part of it:
“There is talk of WBD being interested in WWE with the idea that they would have the entire wrestling market and they could cross-promote it, but I don’t see that happening at all.
“They may have interest but I can’t see WWE going on the same station as AEW, and certainly if they did there’d be no agreement to cross-promote. But it’s kind of like what ESPN has done, ESPN wants to be the home of MMA – they have the PFL, they have UFC, I think there’s interest if Bellator stays as a separate entity in getting Bellator because they wanna be the home of all of it and be able to cross-promote as much as possible.
“Even though you can’t really cross-promote on the shows themselves, you can still put the commercials. But I don’t see WWE going for that one. It would take a ridiculous offer. And WBD’s already strapped for cash, so I don’t see that one happening, but we’ll see.“
In recent months AEW has introduced a third programme to the Warner Bros Discovery schedules with Collision launching on Saturday nights. All of AEW’s weekly in-ring shows now air on TNT or TBS with the previous YouTube shows Dark and Elevation being brought to an end.