Tony Khan Addresses Netflix Potentially Acquiring WBD In Massive Deal
Tony Khan has shared his thoughts on what would happen if Netflix actually acquires Warner Bros. Discovery and how it might affect AEW.
There was a massive story in the media world about Netflix potentially buying Warner Bros. Discovery for a whopping $83 billion. There was some sort of bidding war that also included Paramount (CBS) and Comcast (NBC), but WBD has chosen Netflix’s deal that could become official by the third quarter of 2026.
While Netflix is the world’s most popular streaming service, there are also people opposed to the potential deal, and the legal process could be messy due to how Netflix’s acquisition of WBD could impact the entertainment world.
From a pro wrestling perspective, Netflix is at the end of year 1 of a massive 5-year deal with WWE to broadcast Monday Night Raw and also have international rights for most WWE shows like SmackDown, NXT, and PLE events, along with an archive of WWE events.
The WWE-Netflix deal could become a 10-year agreement if Netflix exercises that option, meaning they could be partners with WWE through 2035. The WWE deal with Netflix over 10 years is for a whopping $5 billion.
As for WBD, AEW programming has aired on WBD’s TBS and TNT channels since October 2019. Dynamite started on TNT, moved to TBS, and Collision has been on TNT since the summer of 2023. In late 2024, AEW had agreed to a new deal for three more years, plus a fourth-year option that will keep their shows on the WBD channels. The reported amount was about $180 million per year, including AEW’s content on the HBO Max streaming service.
Earlier in 2025, it was reported that WBD would split into two companies for its various entities, but it was believed that Tony Khan’s AEW broadcasting deals would be safe.
AEW’s Tony Khan Has Nice Things To Say About Netflix And WBD
Since Netflix partners with WWE and AEW partners with WBD, once the news of Netflix acquiring WBD came out, it led to some wrestling fans thinking that Netflix would cancel AEW programming on WBD because it is a conflict with Netflix’s WWE allies. However, it’s not as simple as that.
PWInsider reported that “Netflix is not purchasing the linear channels owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Those channels will be spun off into a new, separate publicly traded company known as Discovery Global.” Those channels include TBS and TNT (the home of AEW), as well as other channels like CNN, The Discovery Channel, HGTV, The Food Network, and so on.
However, if the deal goes through, then Netflix will acquire the HBO Max streaming service, which has a huge archive of legendary television shows and movies. HBO Max also streams live AEW shows and airs the company’s PPVs available for purchase.
Following the ROH Final Battle PPV, there was a press conference where AEW and ROH owner Tony Khan was asked about the Netflix-WBD and what he feels about it.
“First of all, it’s early to comment on anything that’s pending. Without getting into anything that has yet to be determined, I just want to say we have a great partnership with Warner Brothers Discovery and it will continue for many years to come. We have years left on our remaining agreement with TBS and HBO Max. I’m really proud of what we’ve built and I think it’s going to be for a long time to come. It’s going to be like this with Warner Brothers Discovery before anything is settled out. I’m very excited for the future. I think we have great partnerships.”
As Tony Khan said, AEW has a deal with WBD that is locked in through the end of 2027, with an option for 2028, so at least for those three years, nothing is likely to change for AEW.
Tony Khan’s father, Shahid Khan, owns the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tony is heavily involved in that. The NFL has deals with many different outlets to broadcast games, including Netflix.
“What I can say, from the things that are public knowledge, all of the bidders on Warner Brothers Discovery are media partners of the National Football League and great media partners of ours. Everybody who has been in the running for this is somebody we work with on the NFL, so I have a lot of respect for all of them.
We work closely with all three bidders in the mix and we’ll see what happens. I have only positive things to say about Netflix and Warner Brothers Discovery. I can tell you for sure, at least until the very end of 2027, going into 2028, we’re going to be here for years and years to come, over two more years with AEW on TBS, TNT, and HBO Max. I’m very excited about it.”
This will likely continue to be a massive story through the end of 2025 and into 2026 as well, especially considering it’s an $83 billion deal that involves some of the world’s biggest companies.