Wrestling analyst Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics.com discussed AEW’s relationship with Warner Brothers Discovery in an interview with SEScoops.com.
Regarding the future of AEW programming on TBS/TNT, Thurston stated the following:
“I think Tony [Khan] is incredibly committed to WBD. He’s insanely loyal. I asked him recently if FOX was now a possibility for AEW with Smackdown leaving. He would only talk about Warner Discovery and how me he loves being partners there.”
“I’m confident they aren’t profitable now. They need to make $200 million a year in media rights to get to profitability. They’ll get some increase, they could get triple what they’re getting now, it’s not unreasonable. But he’s going to continue to run the company and do what he’s doing whether it’s profitable or not.”
“If I’m Warner Discovery, I’m waiting to see where the NBA rights are going to land. Maybe that influences how I schedule AEW. As for why they aren’t streaming already, it doesn’t make sense to me. At least have next day rights on MAX. Maybe they’re waiting until Collision can deliver ratings. Maybe it will turn into Rampage where it falls off in interest after a while.”
“They go against a lot of sports competition the rest of the year. What can they deliver when they aren’t up against college football or the NFL or the NBA? And there’s the NBA deal, which is a hang up as well. NBA exclusive negotiating doesn’t end start until the season is over with – that could be June or July. So if they have to wait until these deals expire.”
