AEW airs its content across various platforms such as traditional TV, pay-per-view, FITE TV, and YouTube, but there is one thing that’s missing, a streaming service.
WWE launched the WWE Network as a streaming service in 2014 and still has it internationally so fans around the world can watch old events on-demand. In 2021, they sold its United States rights to NBCU and put it on Peacock.
While doing an interview with Comicbook’s Connor Casey, AEW President Tony Khan shared his thoughts on a potential AEW streaming deal.
“As we’ve developed more content, growing the library, I think, and the demand has grown for a variety of reasons. I think all the stars are aligning. AEW as a streaming service has more potential value in the future. And then the purchase of Ring of Honor, now to have access to one of the best wrestling libraries in North America with some of today’s top stars and some of the top stars in the past few decades, and those thousands of hours of Ring of Honor footage in conjunction with the hundreds of hours of AEW footage we’ve assembled and continued to assemble on a weekly basis, week in, week out, and the growing demand from our fans. I think all these factors contribute to why this would be a great time for AEW to launch a streaming service. And it’s a conversation that I’ve had and continue to actively have with Warner Brothers Discovery, who are one of the worldwide leaders in streaming and sports content.”
Warner Brothers Discovery does have HBO Max, which has been speculated as a possible streaming service to feature AEW’s library. AEW’s TV deal expires at the end of 2023 so it will be interesting to see if a streaming inclusion is in the new deal.
