As we’ve been reporting here on eWn, AEW’s media rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery is said to be done and may be announced as early as this coming week.
The new AEW-WBD deal is reportedly for four years, with three years guaranteed and a one-year option. It is approximately $170 million per year and will allow AEW to air shows twice a week on TBS, TNT, and TruTV.
Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men Podcast is reporting that the deal is “done” and only has a few things left to be finalized. The deal will include AEW and its pay-per-view events airing on HBO Max, which is expected to begin in January 2025. Additionally, the pay-per-view events will be accessible through other platforms as they currently are.
As far as TruTV being a part of the package is concerned, that remains to be seen. It’s possible the network will feature replays of Dynamite or Collision. AEW Rampage doesn’t appear to be airing on TNT or TBS, which could mean it’ll be discontinued or placed on TruTV.
As far as the rumored AEW Shockwave show on FOX is concerned, Zarian revealed that top executives likely could mean any FOX network, just as TBS, TNT and TrutV would all be Turner networks. This includes FS1 or another FOX-owned network. It is said that AEW Shockwave will be a weekly one-hour show.
Finally, it was added that WWE sources don’t expect FOX to use AEW as a replacement for SmackDown. With that being said, FOX’s marketing team still believes wrestling is something they can sell to advertisers.
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