The exclusive negotiating window between WBD (Warner Bros. Discovery) and AEW is ticking down with a report stating it will expire in July.
Matt Belloni of The Puck and host of The Town podcast reported in his weekly newsletter that the window expires in July and indicates that the offer on the table for Tony Khan has been viewed as ‘disappointing’ by the head of AEW:
I’m told the exclusive window closes in July, and AEW leader Tony Khan is said to be disappointed with the offer currently on the table. Khan also surely knows that Zaz losing the NBA would give AEW more leverage, even though the money to re-up AEW is a mere drop in the NBA bucket. If the window closes without a deal, others could swoop in for those rights, as Comcast has done with the NBA. (Extra awkward because WBD is said to own a stake in the league.)
Regarding WBD having a stake in the upstart promotion, Khan indicated as much during last September’s media call:
And as for them [WBD] and their stake in the business [AEW], I mean, that is something that would be between us. But I would also be open to that, to Warner Brothers in a future deal, having a piece or a bigger piece, potentially. But I would always want to maintain 100% voting control, as I have now, and want to maintain, you know, the supermajority of stock which I have now. So I think these are things that are really important to me. But in a future deal, I mean, these are things that, you know, I would be open to. It’s not– There’s nothing bad about it. I mean, we’ve seen in pro wrestling this year, a change of control [at WWE]. I have no interest in a change of control [at AEW]. Would I be interested in taking on additional investment? Yeah, potentially. But it would have to be at the right numbers and it would have to make sense for us based on how much our business has grown this year. But as for a change of control or giving up any of the voting stock, I have no interest in that. (Transcription: Brandon Thurston)
Khan spoke with SI.com when promoting this past Sunday’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view and spoke of his confidence regarding AEW’s next domestic television rights agreement:
For everyone who cares about AEW all over the world, we’re in a great position. This is going to work out really well for AEW. We’re having great talks, and people should feel very confident about what that means for the wrestlers, the staff, and the fans. As a result of everyone’s hard work and endless support from the fans, there will be a tremendous deal for AEW. The outlook for the company is so bright moving forward.
AEW launched on TNT in October 2019 with two hours of prime-time programming along with quarterly Battle of the Belts specials and Countdown shows before each pay-per-view. In August 2021, it added Rampage on Friday nights on TNT with Dynamite shifting to TBS the following January.
Last June, TNT added two more hours with Collision on Saturday nights on TNT with five total hours of weekly original programming from AEW between the two stations.
