Tony Khan Claims WBD Wants AEW To Stay
Tony Khan is confident of getting a great media rights deal with Warner Brothers Discovery.
With AEW’s exclusive negotiating period with WBD expiring imminently, Tony Khan has given an update on the progress of reaching a media rights deal with the company. During an appearance on SportsGrid, Khan said the new deal will be “huge” for the promotion, and the AEW CEO is pleased that WBD wants them to stay.
“It’s going to be a huge thing. It will mean that all the investment into AEW has more than paid off. It will mean a very secure future for AEW for a very long time to come. We’re going to get a great media rights deal, we’re having great conversations here, and we have a great home at Warner Brothers Discovery.
“I was really pleased they want us to stay and they made us great offers and we’re having great conversations now. With five hours of wrestling every week and streaming, there are all kinds of things to talk about. It’s really exciting for the future of AEW,”
Would Tony Khan Move AEW TV Shows To Different Days?
Any new deal will be heavily affected by WBD’s negotiations with the NBA, as games currently air on TNT. When asked if he would be willing to move Rampage or Collision to a different night, Khan said he would have to “look at that,” as he is not in a position to speculate on the future of the NBA.
“We’d have to look at that. These are all kinds of interesting things we can talk about. Some things we are talking about. There is a lot to be figured out there. The last thing I can do is speculate on what the future of the NBA is. I’m in no position to say what their future is. It’s something everybody is going to be watching very closely.
“Warner Brothers Discovery has been great to us and have also been very savvy about acquiring sports media rights. It was really brilliant to sublicense the college football playoff games. That’s going to add even more viewers to TNT and it brings in events that are going to do some of the biggest audiences outside of the NFL.”
AEW has been booking multiple ppv-level shows in recent weeks, with it being reported that they are looking to boost ratings during the negotiations with WBD.
H/T to Fightful for the above transcription.