Tony Khan has revealed that securing AEW’s first television contract was the biggest challenge the company faced during its formation and that there was a point in 2019 when the roster was already signed but no broadcast partner had been secured.
Speaking with Wide World of Sports, Khan explained that obtaining a television deal took nearly a year of negotiations and remained unresolved well into 2019.
“The biggest hurdle was to make the TV deal.”
Khan recalled reaching a particularly stressful point in the company’s development.
“I reached a point in early-2019 where I had signed the wrestlers, but didn’t have a deal.”
Despite months of work, the situation remained uncertain.
“I had been working on the TV portion of it for nearly a year, but I had got into April and still didn’t have a deal.”
For a startup wrestling promotion preparing to launch nationally, that represented a significant financial risk. AEW had already committed to talent contracts while lacking the television revenue and exposure that would ultimately help sustain the business.
Khan described finally securing a network partner as the moment the promotion truly became real.
“Reaching a point where it became a reality was very challenging.”
Fortunately for AEW, an agreement was eventually reached with Warner Bros. Discovery through what was then WarnerMedia. That partnership led to the launch of AEW Dynamite on TNT in October 2019 and remains the foundation of AEW’s media business today.
By the time the television agreement was finalized, AEW had already assembled a roster that included many of the promotion’s future cornerstones:
Kenny Omega
Cody Rhodes
Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson
Chris Jericho
Jon Moxley
PAC
MJF
Darby Allin
Jack Perry
The women’s division was also built around names such as:
Britt Baker
Nyla Rose
Riho
Hikaru Shida
Brandi Rhodes
AEW officially launched with Double or Nothing 2019 in May 2019, capitalizing on years of fan demand for a major alternative to WWE.
Looking back, Khan’s comments highlight just how precarious those early months were. While AEW is now an established national promotion with major television distribution, pay-per-view success, and international events, there was a point when the entire project depended on securing a television partner before the company’s ambitious plans could truly move forward.
