While AEW and Warner Bros. Discovery continue in-depth talks to extend their TV rights deal, which expires at the end of this year, fans should expect to hear about a new AEW program to be announced shortly.
The Warner Bros. Discovery TV upfronts begin today, and while AEW will be mentioned, that does not guarantee a new deal will be announced soon. As PWMania.com previously reported, both sides are believed to have not reached an agreement, so a new contract is unlikely to be announced on Wednesday.
According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, if a deal is reached, it will be kept very quiet, with an announcement expected in the summer or fall. AEW and WBD continue to have an exclusivity window throughout the summer.
According to the report, “There is a pilot for a new AEW-related program with WBD that was set to be announced for social channels this week. It was described as not being a reality series.” No further information was provided.
The two sides are still talking about adding AEW pay-per-view events to the Max streaming service and how that would work. According to reports, WBD considers Max in almost every transaction.
The belief is that WBD will lose the NBA to NBC. Fightful stated that if this occurs, WBD will look to reinvest funds to maintain its position on cable and look at other properties to help attract viewers.
