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According to recent reports, Warner Bros. merging with Discovery may spell disaster for AEW down the line.
The Discovery network finished merging with Warner Media earlier this year in April, creating a streaming media giant led by CEO David Zaslav. This is expected to result in major changes in how Discovery TV streams its shows and movies.
In a recent report by Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer noted that new CEO David Zaslav is apparently going to be strict with budget cuts in the coming months. Although initially the budget cuts were expected to be around $3 million, it is now rumored to be around $4 million.
Despite AEW's mostly impressive ratings, the massive budget cuts may prove bad news for Tony Khan's brand. While Meltzer noted that the Jacksonville-based promotion is well within the budget, such an uncertain time may also put All Elite Wrestling in the streaming company's crosshairs.
As of now, fans will have to stay tuned to see how the situation unfolds in the coming weeks.
Bill Apter had previously speculated what the merger could mean for AEW
When Warner Media started merging with Discovery TV in April, veteran journalist Bill Apter shared an interesting opinion about the future of All Elite Wrestling.
In an appearance on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Top Story, Apter stated that everything depended on how much revenue the promotion could generate:
"Somewhat [getting affected by the merger]. If like what happened with WCW, is if the executives say that, 'this doesn't really fit our profile.' So, yeah, I mean something like that could happen. Although it's a ratings winner. They are making a lot of money on advertising so as long as AEW keeps making revenue for them, then the guys sitting in the office at Discovery who said 'we don't need wrestling on here,' somebody else is gonna show them the sheet with the money they're bringing in and that's where it's gonna go as far as I am concerned." (From 28:15 to 28:52)
With recent worrying reports of potential budget cuts, it remains to be seen whether Bill Apter's prediction will be proven true in the near future.
What are your thoughts on the Discovery and Warner Bros. merger? Sound off in the comments below.
