Tony Khan has big announcement planned for AEW Dynamite this week. This caused a lot of fans to wonder when AEW will make a big reveal about a television streaming deal.
Sean Sapp noted behind Fightful’s paywall that AEW’s big announcement tonight on Dynamite could include some kind of news about the television rights deal with Warner Bros Discovery.
Amidst the anticipation surrounding Tony Khan’s “important announcement,” there has been significant speculation about a potential broadcast or streaming destination for AEW. While a deal had not been finalized between WBD and AEW for Max a few weeks ago, WWE and Universal recently reached an agreement for Smackdown.
Fightful Select has learned that one deal may affect the other in certain ways. NBCUniversal was eager to land Smackdown, which has been viewed as the top Smackdown show as far as viewership and being “football proof.” However, sports may play a role in the dominoes falling.
WBD contacts spoke with Fightful and confirmed a rumor that we heard that they expect NBCU and USA Network to make a bid on NBA programming rights, which have been a staple of TNT for years. This would likely affect the budget that could exist for USA/Universal getting Raw and NXT as well. NBA is expecting a massive increase for the TV rights in 25-26.
This would also affect WBD’s budget, in the event that they somehow lose the NBA. AEW and WBD as of a few weeks ago were unable to come to terms on a deal which we’re told would include AEW television rights, PPV, as well as the library. Those at WBD stated that Khan has a particular value that he believes the AEW library is worth.
The outlet also noted that, “WBD sources that we spoke to said that they’ve been very happy with the AEW partnership and look for it to continue. When we asked about viewership numbers that are often the talking point, one source there noted that it isn’t anything that the company hadn’t anticipated, especially going up against football in the fall.“
The pro wrestling world is always interesting when it comes to television rights deals. It is very important for fans to know where they must tune in to watch their favorite pro wrestling action. Only time will tell what Tony Khan has to say tonight on AEW Dynamite, but there is certainly a lot of speculation this time around.
Tony Khan has announcements on an almost weekly basis at this point. This week could include some big news, so we’ll have to wait and see what he has to say. Keep checking back with us here at Ringside News for more.
What’s your take on this situation with AEW Dynamite and Tony Khan’s announcement this week? Let us know what you think about this in the comments section!
I love pro wrestling and hate BS. These two things drive me. Years of experience in writing, journalism, and digging exclusive insider info for Ringside News. Worked in finance before realizing pro wrestling journalism made much less sense. Pro beachballs at pro wrestling shows, pro dives if someone catches, anti bullies, olives, and pineapples on pizza.
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