AEW Denies Being Disappointed With WBD Media Rights Offer

All Elite Wrestling have denied that Tony Khan was disappointed by the first offer from Warner Bros. Discovery over renewing their United States media rights, but it was noted the two sides have yet to agree to terms on any deal. AEW sources issued the denial to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer. 

AEW commented on their negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery following a report from Puck's Matthew Belloni which stated that AEW's exclusive negotiating window with WBD expires in July and "Tony Khan is said to be disappointed with the offer currently on the table." Both WBD CEO David Zaslav and TNT Sports head Luis Silberwasser want to keep AEW programming on TNT and TBS, according to the report, and if the two parties fail to agree to a deal it could "further push Zaslav into hot water in his cable carriage deals."

While AEW issued a denial to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, Meltzer's colleague Bryan Alvarez has reported that Tony Khan was unhappy with the first offer from WBD as it was not a comprehensive package that included the AEW TV library and a pay-per-view aspect. 

"I've talked to a lot of different people about this. This is my understanding, and we've talked about this on the show. I've been talking about this for a long time. Tony would, obviously, like a lucrative deal but my understanding is what he wants is a package deal that includes many different things. He doesn't just want a renewal for the television, but he wants a renewal for the television and he would like some sort of pay-per-view aspect to this, whether that means moving to Max, whatever the deal with Max would be. Then he wants something involving the AEW TV library... I have been told he wants something that involves all of these different things. What I also was told is that the original offer did not include all of these things, and he was unhappy with the offer because he wanted everything," Alvarez said on Wrestling Observer Live.

Alvarez added that the situation may have changed and he believes a deal will be signed "relatively soon" for around $120 million per year, however this was just Alvarez's opinion. AEW have been partnered with WBD since the promotion's launch in 2019. WBD exercised an option year to extend the AEW TV deal through the end of 2024 and AEW's current US media rights are believed to be worth $80 million per year. 

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