Details On Internal AEW Reaction To Paramount Acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery

Paramount won the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery in a late stage twist, and new reporting has some details on the internal reaction at AEW. As you very likely know, Paramount entered an agreement last week to acquire WBD after they increased their offer to $31 a share and Netflix chose not to raise their offer. It marked the end of a bumpy road for the acquisition which included a hostile bid by Paramount, major pushback from the industry, and questions over regulatory concerns.

While the latter of those two concerns remain to various degrees, the deal is signed and set to move forward. WBD is of course the broadcast partner for AEW, and Paramount’s acquisition of the entire company means that HBO Max and the Global Discovery Networks — the platforms AEW is broadcast on — will remain together. Paramount has noted that the plan is to combine HBO Max with Paramount+, though details on how that will work are forthcoming. Paramount’s David Ellison has said HBO will remain as a brand.

According to Fightful Select, AEW had a notion that Paramount would outbid Netflix for WBD in the days before it happened. Additionally, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that Tony Khan was “thrilled” by the news. Khan believes that this is the best possible scenario for him and AEW as opposed to Netflix.

Khan’s sentiment is not universal in AEW. Others in the company believe it’s bad for them because Paramount could get rid of them due to their need to cut back on costs, or due to pressure from TKO. TKO has contracts with Paramount to broadcast the UFC on Paramount+ as well as Zuffa Boxing.

To be clear, there is no indication that Paramount will be influenced by TKO to drop AEW, and Dave Meltzer is not reporting that as the case; this is simply the concern from some within AEW. AEW’s contract with WBD (and thus Paramount) to air AEW on TNT and TBS runs through 2027, with an option year for 2028.