Tony Khan Says AEW Is Having ‘Deep Exciting Conversations’ With Warner Bros. Discovery

– During a recent interview with the Battleground Podcast, AEW President and CEO Tony Khan addressed ongoing talks between AEW and Warner Bros. Discovery on the promotion’s TV rights. He was also asked about AEW programming potentially streaming on Max. Below are some highlights (via Fightful):

Tony Khan on recent talks with Warner Bros. Discovery: “It’s such an exciting time for AEW. We’re in great conversations with our partners at Warner Bros. Discovery. It’s a real blessing to me and I think everyone in AEW that we’re able to put wrestling on TBS and TNT every week. Wrestling on TBS and TNT was a big part of our childhoods. There was no wrestling on TNT for about 18 years and no wrestling on TBS for over 20 years. It meant a lot to bring that back, in particular on TBS, that tradition goes back over 50 years. I love it here. We’re having great talks. It means the world to be able to do this.”

On the numbers AEW programming has been doing on WBD networks: “We’re in very deep exciting conversations. There is a lot to figure out. We have these great shows with AEW Dynamite, Rampage, and Collision. Our prime time shows, both coming on at 8, we’ve been doing great, great ratings with our flagship shows. It’s a really exciting time. This past week, both shows did their biggest numbers in months. It’s an exciting time for us to hit new highs. The conversations are awesome right now.”

Tony Khan on what AEW needs to nail down in ongoing talks: “There is a lot to figure out with the AEW TV shows, our pay-per-view content, our streaming library, and all of these things. It’s a lot of very complex conversations, but they’ve been great. We’re having great talks with Warner Brothers Discovery now and it’s a great partnership and we’re very fortunate to be here. It’s a great place for wrestling.”

It was previously reported that AEW’s exclusive negotiating window with Warner Bros. Discovery for a broadcast rights renewal ends this month. It’s also rumored that a new broadcast TV rights deal between AEW and WBD is expected, but it’s not yet complete or expected to be announced “imminently.”