Speaking in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, AEW CEO Tony Khan expressed strong confidence in AEW’s position with the media company, even as Warner Bros. Discovery explores options for a sale.
WBD officially put itself up for sale in October 2025 following unsolicited interest from multiple parties. Potential suitors include Paramount, backed by sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East, with Comcast and Netflix reportedly only interested in acquiring the studio and streaming assets. The outcome is expected to be decided by the end of 2025, but WBD is also still considering its original plan to split into two separate companies by mid-2026.
“I feel really great about AEW’s relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery, and I think it’s a great situation for us that we’re one of those strong franchises on multiple channels and properties where AEW’s clearly, very strongly figured in,” Khan stated.
Khan noted that over the company’s six-year existence, AEW has become an increasingly vital component of the WBD family of brands. “We’re becoming a bigger and bigger part as we’ve grown,” Khan continued. “And now it’s been six years of AEW. We’ve continued to become a bigger part of the Warner Bros. family. So, I feel like no matter what happens in the future, I think we will be a really important part of that family, and also for different media properties.”
AEW and WBD finalized a new multi-year media rights deal in late 2024 that extends their exclusive partnership, a deal valued at approximately $170 million to $185 million. The new deal includes the simulcasting of AEW Dynamite and AEW Collision live on the Max streaming platform, a provision that began in January 2025. AEW is currently building toward its Full Gear event, which will feature several big matches, including AEW World Champion “Hangman” Adam Page defending his title against Samoa Joe in a rematch.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Ariel Helwani with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription. You can listen to the full interview on Ariel Helwani’s YouTube channel.
