TONY KHAN DECLARES: ‘AEW ON TBS AND TNT, I THINK IS HERE TO STAY’

After months of speculation about AEW’s TV future, it seems the company has finally struck a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery.

On Friday night, at the Collision and Rampage taping in Chicago, AEW President Tony Khan spoke to the crowd at the NOW Arena. “I think it’s safe to say, there’s a good chance to say here in Chicago, I feel pretty good to say, AEW on TBS and TNT, I think is here to stay,” said Khan.

Khan also made a money gesture with his thumb and index finger after his statement. The familiar finger motion may have been a callback to comments he made earlier in the week while promoting All Out. During a media call on Thursday, Khan said, “I expect over this multi-year period that we’re about to enter into, that we will be the second most profitable wrestling company in the history of the wrestling business.”

Adding to the optimism, Emmy Award-winning sportscaster and wrestling podcaster Jon Alba recently stated on X, “I wouldn’t be surprised if the AEW/WBD media rights deal is announced very, very soon.” Alba said he didn’t know the financial details but believed that most, if not all, AEW content could be available for streaming on Max. Last month, Khan appeared on Barstool Rasslin’ wearing a Max hat. That fueled speculation that streaming could be a part of AEW’s deal with Warner Bros. Discovery.

Founded by Tony Khan in January 2019, AEW quickly made waves in the wrestling world. In May of that year, AEW and WarnerMedia announced the launch of Dynamite, the company’s flagship show. Airing live, it debuted that October on TNT, the former home of WCW’s Monday Nitro. Two years later, Dynamite moved to TBS, while a new show, Rampage, premiered that summer on Friday nights on TNT.

In 2022, AEW added a quarterly special called Battle of the Belts. That same year, WarnerMedia merged with Discovery to become Warner Bros. Discovery. Under the new company, AEW introduced a third weekly show, Collision, in 2023.

While promoting AEW’s programming on social media early Friday, Khan said, “AEW’s on the 1-yard line at the most important time in our history.” With AEW seemingly in the end zone, an official announcement could come during its next spectacular, All Out, on Saturday night.

2024-09-07T15:11:28Z dg43tfdfdgfd