AEW’s TV rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery expires at the end of this year.
Tony Khan and David Zaslav were both in Paris for the Olympics, and they planned to meet—something that had been planned for months. That happened, and Khan later acknowledged having a great meeting with the WBD executive.
Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp reports that WBD sources said there is still some red tape to get through, but another offer for a long-term television deal was recently made to the promotion, and they feel very confident in it. The latest deal came after the meeting in Paris.
The report noted, “One WBD source called the offer “extensive,” but didn’t elaborate on what that, meant outside of saying the terms of the deal were “literally extensive,” but that the offer is in AEW’s hands and that they’re reviewing it. AEW and WBD seemed optimistic that a deal would be agreed to, but we didn’t hear of when an announcement could be made.”
Sources said that before the most recent offer, WBD offered “at least double” the amount of their previous deal to AEW. The figures are not public, so we don’t know if “at least double” is for the “same amount of programming or if additional elements are involved.”
Fightful was told that “any and all combinations and possibilities” have been explored regarding AEW programming. WBD sources noted that the company made inquiries with AEW as of last year about the possibility of that shift in PPV strategy.
Sources from each side noted that they expect the partnership to continue “for years to come.”
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