– Fightful Select has an update on the rumored new media rights deal for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) with Warner Bros. Discovery. The new deal is rumored to be a four-year deal, with three years guaranteed and a one-year option. It’s said to be in the ballpark of $170 million per year.
According to Fightful, sources close to the situation claim that the information first reported by Puck’s John Ourand is said to be accurate, and the deal is close to being finished. However, it’s unknown when the date will be announced. Ourand’s report noted that an announcement on the deal could be coming “as soon as next week, barring any last-minute challenges.”
Additionally, Fightful reports that sources within AEW have said that things are being kept tight-lipped regarding the television deal, and talent has been kept in the know regarding AEW’s programming future, including the future of pay-per-view events. That said, Fightful notes that several individuals believe that any pay-per-view and/or Max streaming deals would be separate from the figure that was outlined by Ourand’s report. Deals involving Max and pay-per-view events could be independent of the new broadcast deal between AEW and WBD.
Fightful also notes that a $200 per year benchmark for AEW led to the “One Bill Phil” remark that CM Punk stated in his return promo on AEW Collision last year. That referenced AEW potentially getting an all-encompassing deal valued at $200 per year over five years, which would’ve equaled one billion dollars. The current length of the deal wouldn’t bring AEW to $1 billion in revenue over five years. However, the $170 million figure, plus additional possible pay-per-view deals and revenue, and any other outside media packages likely would bring AEW to that amount.
Previously, AEW was reportedly offered “at least double” the company’s previous media rights fees. Following the Olympic Games in Paris, AEW was said to have been offered another media rights deal that was “lengthy” and needed to be heavily reviewed. During the weekend of All Out 2024, WBD sources informed Fightful that talks with All Elite Wrestling were “amicable and ongoing.”
Additionally, Fightful is said to still be shopping additional media rights packages, which Tony Khan has been interested in doing for a while. This means AEW programming would no longer be exclusive to WBD, which was previously negotiated as a part of the deal that brought about AEW Collision and resulted in AEW Dark and Elevation being removed from YouTube. As previously noted, AEW also had talks with the FOX Network, which has spoken with two other wrestling companies outside of WWE as well.
Fightful reports that WBD is preparing materials to announce its 2025 programming slate. There’s not been any mention of ROH being included in any talks, but that doesn’t rule out that talks with ROH have taken place. While AEW’s financials are still unknown, a TV deal of this size would likely make the company very profitable.
