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This could end up being the most important year in AEW's young history, as the promotion is currently deep in negotiations with its broadcast partner, Warner Bros. Discovery. A new update has just dropped regarding where the two sides stand and what fans can expect in the near future.
AEW signed a television deal with WBD back in 2019 to air its flagship show, Wednesday Night Dynamite, on TNT. The contract has been altered several times since then, with Tony Khan's company adding Rampage and Collision to its catalog and forming closer promotional ties with the network.
This is the final year of that extended contract, and negotiations between the two sides have reportedly been ongoing for months. An update seemingly shed light on the status of the talks earlier today, with B.J. Bethel of SEScoops claiming that an agreement had been reached "in principle" that would add AEW content to WBD's streaming service, MAX.
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Fightful Select has now issued its own report, claiming that a deal has not yet been reached and nothing is expected to be announced imminently. The report claims that negotiations are still ongoing, and while AEW is expected to stay with Warner Bros. Discovery, no agreement has been made yet.
Look who just shut down all of Tony Khan's critics! More HERE.
Fightful also noted that Tony Khan and WBD's CEO David Zaslav are scheduled to meet in Paris during the Summer Olympics. While it's unclear whether the two will be able to finalize a deal at that time, they are expected to discuss their partnership.
Dave Meltzer thinks AEW should speak to other suitors
Included in All Elite Wrestling's deal with Warner Bros. Discovery is an exclusive negotiating window, which disallows the Jacksonville-based promotion to speak with other networks up to a certain date. That date is reportedly near, and if a deal isn't made with WBD soon, Tony Khan could field offers from other platforms.
Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer believes it would be prudent for Khan to speak with other networks. On a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer opined that negotiating with WBD's rivals could give the Jacksonville-based promotion leverage:
"AEW would probably do well to start talking to other people because we’re at that point now. It’d probably be good to do that because then they do that, and it does put more pressure on WBD to make the deal. And if you have an outside suitor, you can get that price up," Meltzer said.
The relationship between Tony Khan's promotion and Warner Bros. Discovery is said to be solid, and Khan himself has claimed multiple times that he would like to stay on TNT and TBS. Whether the two sides can come to an agreement remains to be seen.
