Everything We Know About AEW's New TV Deal With Warner Bros. Discovery

Everything you need to know about the new AEW-Warner Bros. Discovery TV deal

Aidan Gibbons smiling in front of a green screen in an Adidas hoodie

Oct 3, 2024

AEW logo September 2024.jpg

All Elite Wrestling's partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery is set to continue through 2027 following the announcement on Wednesday, October 2 that the two parties had reached a new multi-year agreement.

The new deal means AEW Dynamite will continue to air on Wednesday nights on TBS, while AEW Collision will still be broadcast on Saturday nights on TNT. Both shows will also stream live on the Max streaming service in addition to their respective TV channels. AEW Rampage was not included as part of the new AEW-WBD deal as the two parties reportedly prioritised Dynamite and Collision which ultimately means Rampage is set to be cancelled at the end of 2024 unless AEW finds a new home for the series.

The new AEW-WBD deal also includes a pay-per-view component and AEW's major events will be available to purchase for Max subscribers at a discounted price later in 2025 and AEW's branding of pay-per-views will centre around Max. The pay-per-views will continue to be available at full price on other platforms, including Triller and PPV.com.

Some had hoped that AEW pay-per-views would be available to Max subscribers for free in a similar deal to WWE PLEs on Peacock. Warner Bros. Discovery reportedly didn't want that arrangement, though, as they didn't wish to lose money by having the pay-per-views air on Max for free.

Tony khan all in 2024 media scrum

Beyond AEW's new programming, the promotion's library of Dynamite, Collision, and Rampage episodes will be available on Max from 2025.

Unlike AEW's deal with WBD for Collision inked in 2023, AEW content is no longer exclusive to Warner Bros. Discovery as part of the new contract. This could lead to a new show as it has reportedly been mentioned within the promotion that AEW could potentially revive Dark, the promotion's YouTube show that aired from October 2019 until 2023.

The new TV deal will take effect from January 1, 2025 and run through December 31, 2027, with the deal believed to be worth close to $185 million per year. There is also an option for a fourth year at a substantially increased price that would cause the TV deal to run through 2028. The new deal will reportedly make All Elite Wrestling 'very profitable' five years on from the promotion's founding in January 2019.

Those profits are ultimately a positive for Warner Bros. Discovery too. Following years of rumours and speculation, it has been reported by the Sports Business Journal and the Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer that WBD holds an ownership stake in AEW, owning a small percentage of the pro wrestling promotion.

AEW Shockwave, a new rumoured third show from All Elite Wrestling, was not mentioned in the TV deal announcement and the plan was always for Shockwave to be shopped around to other companies.

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