AEW & WarnerMedia Broadcast Deal Reportedly Worth $175 Million, Company Still Operating in the Red

– A new article by Hank Tucker for Forbes sheds some light on the financial details of All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and the amount of money the company earns from its broadcast partnership with WarnerMedia. AEW started with a significant investment from Tony Khan’s father, Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan, reportedly said to be worth $100 million. The report also noted that AEW is currently still operating in the red due to the significant investment made for the company’s game development.

In addition, after the launch of AEW Dynamite on TNT, AEW signed a new deal with WarnerMedia to renew Dynamite through 2024. According to Forbes, that renewal deal was worth $175 million. Last month, AEW announced its new WarnerMedia program, Rampage, which will debut on TNT in August. Meanwhile, both Dynamite and Rampage will move to TBS starting in January 2022.

Khan’s initial deal with WarnerMedia to launch Dynamite on TNT was described as a “trial deal” that was finalized four months after AEW was unveiled on New Year’s Day 2019. TNT, TBS, and TruTV General Manager Brett Weitz said on Tony Khan, “It was very clear we put ourselves in the right hands.” He continued, “For someone to have the audacity to say, ‘I’m going to go take on the biggest wrestling league in the world and see if I can be a challenger brand,’ it takes chutzpah. And he nailed it.”

Speaking to Forbes about his goals with AEW, Khan stated, “I don’t want to be the next ‘blank’ wrestling company of the past—fill in the blank. We love wrestling of the past, wrestling of the present and wrestling of the future… That’s what gives us a great chance to retain and gain audience share.”

Khan on WCW, which was purchased by WWE for $4.3 million in 2001, “I’m glad that WCW failed because it created a vacancy for us to come in and succeed, but it made it a fairly bleak period for the wrestling business.”

As part of its broadcast deal with WarnerMedia, AEW was paid $43.75 million for its programming on TNT last year. This reportedly comprised the biggest portion of AEW’s revenue. Forbes noted that AEW is still in the red due to its eight-figure investment into the company’s video game development, which includes a AAA console game being developed by Yuke’s that was announced last November.

Per Forbes, Tony Khan expects AEW’s wrestling division to be profitable later this year. With live touring returning for AEW in July, ticket sales for the company are growing. Pay-per-view numbers for AEW are also doing well. May’s Double or Nothing 2021 event drew an estimated 115,000 PPV buys. AEW Revolution from earlier this year is estimated to have drawn between 125,000 to 135,000 PPV buys.

This week’s edition of Dynamite airs on Friday, June 18 on TNT at 10:00 pm ET due to the NBA Playoffs. The following week, Dynamite will air on Saturday, June 26 at 8:00 pm ET.