We’ve seen for the past several years, specifically since the WWE launched the original WWE Network in 2014, that the shifting dynamics of new technology have continued to impact the media landscape, both inside and outside of the pro wrestling business.
Every players in the streaming game seems to be chasing this theoretical gold mine, with the notion that traditional television is going to die off, leaving online streaming as the only major form of media consumption left in America. Everyone is looking to get their piece of the pie. Of course, that is misguided since the NFL and cable news still draw massive numbers because the traditional platform is still the easiest way for the widest demographic to access the content. That’s not to say that there’s not money to be made in the streaming market, Netflix is proof of that, but rather to point out that an entity jumping into the streaming waters won’t automatically yield success. In fact, we’ve seen a slew of streaming platforms come and go in the same span of time since the WWE Network launched. The streaming market is still oversaturated, the handful of mergers, including the Paramount/WBD merger, within just the past few years is a part of the determination of just how many streaming options can be sustained by the market. When it gets to the point that there are so many streaming options that it starts to resemble the cable platform that it aimed to replace, you know that consolidation, in some form or fashion, will be a part of the process of what services will ultimately find the most success.
Speaking of which, Triller, the platform that hosts everything from AEW, TNA, GCW, and a myriad of independent cards, is said to be in financial danger. At the end of last year, Triller was taken off of the Nasdaq stock exchange for failure to submit financial reports. The company was also subject to a few different lawsuits, prompting questions about the amount of cash it had available for its operations. Being unlisted from the stock exchange basically takes away any potential investment from the public, which means that the organization would have to look for private investors at a time when it wouldn’t be advisable for anyone to throw more money into the Triller pit. Obviously, Triller needs content to be able to sell to customers, but when they started to take any independent league with a wifi content, it arguably hindered its brand identity. If Triller was specifically touted as the online home of GCW, it could have a specific level of brand awareness and possibly build off of that with select independent groups, or with the addition of something like TNA. However, when you can find the independent show in front of 23 people at Big Bob’s car lot, it doesn’t make the platform look premiere.
It goes without saying that Triller’s days as an entity look to be numbered, and for the groups on the platform that matter, they either already have their own service in place or have the cache to end up elsewhere without much disruption. TNA+ is already more or less the streaming service where fans know to go for their content online, and it might require a few other deals to be put in place for some international markets, but the collapse of Triller will be moot for TNA. Game Changer Wrestling is probably the most successful property that is specifically under the Triller banner, with events almost every weekend, but without them, GCW will probably be wise to transition its shows to their Youtube channel under the membership tier. Granted, the financial details might be different, but the point is, it’s a relatively easy and logical switch for the independent group.
In an effort to get ahead of the eventual Triller shutdown, All Elite Wrestling has launched its own streaming service, MyAEW primarily for the international fan base. The service will offer different tiers for customers outside North America for episodes of television, as well as access to the pay-per-views. The US, Mexico, and Canada already have existing exclusive deals in place, mostly HBO Max in America so for now, this app will be designed for overseas fans.
The discussion for an AEW app, particularly to get the pay-per-views to a bulk-pricing model, has been a topic among fans since almost the inception of the organization, but that’s a difficult leap to make, especially when the events usually garner around 140,000 buys. Sure, you can argue that their PPV buys are stagnant, as only the most diehard portion of the fan base will spend $50 to order a show, but if the company is consistently making a profit on its pay-per-views, it’s tough to take a different path.
This is where the WWE sets the bar for the rest of the industry, at the time that AEW started, the PPV standard was $9.99 a month with access to the extensive video library, but we’ve seen the resistance from fans to switch back to paying $30 a month for pay-per-views. When the shows were on Peacock for $4.99 a month and in some cases included for Comcast customers, it unintentionally lowered the market value of the events. In some ways, the horse is out of the barn, and the reports of less than stellar ESPN app numbers based on the addition of WWE content explain the reasoning behind it. If AEW gave fans access to pay-per-view for $19.99 a month through the MyAEW app, it would be extremely difficult for the company to sell those shows at $50 again.
All Elite Wrestling is a domestic entity in the United States, but as far as WWE setting the standard for the industry, the TKO corporation shows how important and profitable it is to globalize the product. No, All Elite Wrestling shouldn’t try to keep pace with WWE as far as expansion outside of the country, but the point is, there are undoubtedly profitable revenue streams on the table for international markets, especially for the locations that don’t get live cards as often as other places in the world. The MyAEW app could be extremely useful to not only expand distribution of the product, but also get a measure of the level of fan demand for more live events in different countries. The United Kingdom generated the biggest house in AEW history with more than 80,000 fans in attendance at Wembley Stadium a few years ago so that’s proof of the demand for live wrestling in the European market, particularly after the consolidation of the UK independent scene when the original NXT UK project scooped up almost every independent name on the circuit. With the MyAEW app, Tony Khan could get a gauge on how many fans are willing to pay for the product in Germany, France etc. to be able to determine what cities in the market could host profitable live events.
It wouldn’t be the primary focus of the streaming platform, but after the service is put in place and runs smoothly, it will ensure that regardless of what happens, All Elite Wrestling will still have a platform where it can monetize the product in the future. It probably won’t be necessary, with the Paramount/Warner Brothers Discovery merger, there was speculation about if AEW’s TV deal would be renewed at the end of 2027, given Paramount’s media deal with the UFC, which is a part of the TKO corporation. As I wrote about the merger in a prior article, it could mean absolute nothing, as AEW might be seen as just another TV show, and Paramount needs content to put on the Turner networks after the merger. However, at the very least, a well-established streaming platform could be a good safety net for distribution of content if Paramount would opt not to renew the television deal, as it could keep new content available to fans until AEW signed a TV deal with a different network.
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Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
