All Elite Wrestling (AEW) has ceased offering its pay-per-view events through Triller (via FITE TV) in the United States and Canada, a move that coincides with significant financial uncertainty surrounding the streaming platform. While AEW historically utilized Triller for a substantial portion of its international PPV buys, the company is now directing domestic viewers to other platforms such as Amazon Prime, YouTube, PPV.com, the newly added Fubo, and traditional cable and satellite providers.
The decision comes as Triller faces the potential of being delisted from the NASDAQ stock exchange. The company’s financial footing appears precarious. In January, Triller announced it had raised $14 million, but by April, it was revealed that the deal had not closed and no funds were received. Triller has also been attempting to secure an additional $10 million in new funding and has failed to file its 10-K report for 2024 and its first-quarter report. On May 23rd, Triller stated it was working on filing both overdue reports “as soon as they could”.
Despite the change for PPV distribution in the U.S. and Canada, Triller remains a crucial partner for AEW internationally. The platform hosts AEW Plus, a service allowing fans outside the U.S. to watch AEW programming concurrently with its American broadcast, and commercial-free. This service has been a “key part of AEW’s distribution since day one”.
Triller’s impact extends beyond AEW, as it has become a significant hub for independent wrestling promotions. It offers free shows, pay-per-views from smaller companies, and a popular bundled package that includes content from various promotions, most notably Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), for a monthly or yearly fee. The platform’s current struggles could therefore have wider implications for the independent wrestling scene.
Per Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, a source within professional wrestling familiar with Triller’s situation indicated that the streaming service was “being shopped around for a low purchase price”. However, any potential buyer would also have to assume Triller’s debt, which the source described as “a very considerable number”. The individual estimated it would take “$15 million to $20 million to get it going in all,” elaborating, “You need to buy it, address the debt, and inject capital into the thing to get it up and running again”. The source did not confirm to whom Triller had been offered, and Triller did not respond to questions about these matters.
This is not the first time Triller’s sale has been a topic of discussion. Several years ago, reports surfaced that Triller had approached WWE about a potential acquisition. While Triller publicly denied these reports at the time, another source close to the situation confirmed that they were told “by exactly that by those in Triller itself”.
The future of Triller and its AEW Plus service for international markets remains to be seen as the company navigates these financial challenges.
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