Tony Khan & WBD U.S. Networks Boss Discuss New Landmark Multimedia Deal for AEW, Khan Says This Is ‘The Biggest Day in AEW’s History’

– As noted, the wrestling world is buzzing from today’s news of AEW announcing a new multi-year, multimedia rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery. AEW President and CEO Tony Khan spoke to The Hollywood Reporter on today’s announcement, calling today “biggest day in AEW’s history.” Khan also revealed that tonight’s AEW Dynamite, which marks the fifth anniversary of the show’s debut, will celebrate the newly revealed today.

Khan informed THR, “What a perfect time to make this announcement about our future.” Speaking to THR, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO of U.S. Network Kathleen Finch noted, “Nobody can deliver an audience the way AEW can.” She added, “The benefit now to WBD is to introduce this terrific event to a streaming audience, the Max audience, which may not have been exposed to AEW in any great way until now, starting in January, is going to have it every Wednesday and Saturday nights, as well as the library available to stream.”

Finch went on that WBD is very excited about the growth opportunity provided by the new agreement with AEW. She continued, “We are really excited about the growth opportunity and the excitement opportunity that the fandom can bring once we’ve got a new platform to expose AEW to.” As previously noted, the new multimedia deal also includes live pay-per-view events to stream on Max. Finch reportedly stated that the tech is still being developed for the AEW PPV element, and a specific launch for PPV events on Max is still to be determined. However, she noted that the PPV events joining that Max lineup will “open up a lot of exciting possibilities for the fans and for the Max platform as well.”

Khan also told THR, “It’s a really exciting opportunity for us and to be trailblazers on such a massive platform. It’s really exciting for AEW to be the ones that get this opportunity. I think there’s so much great content on the platform, and I think we can bring something new to the greatest library of film and television in the world.”

Khan also discussed his relationship with the WBD executives and CEO David Zaslav, noting they invited him out to attend the 2024 Paris Olympics with them and their families. Khan stated on WBD, “I could not ask for better bosses than Kathleen and [WBD CEO] David Zaslav.” He went on about AEW’s longstanding relationship with WBD, “They’ve been so supportive of AEW from the time that Discovery and Warner Brothers came together to form Warner Bros. Discovery, I’ve gotten so much love and support from this team.”

Finch also chimed in on Khan, “What he has done in five years is so miraculous that I think we sometimes lose sight of that. It’s the five-year anniversary tonight of something that should actually be 10 or 15 years old given all the growth that it’s had.”

The new multimedia agreement will keep AEW Dynamite and Collision on WBD’s TBS and TNT networks. Max will begin streaming live AEW pay-per-view events starting in 2025 at a “discounted price.” Pricing and more information on how the PPV events on Max will work will be released in the coming months, as WBD is continuing to build the necessary tech to stream live PPV shows.

Tony Khan is listed as co-owner of AEW with his father, Shahid Khan. He also serves as the Chief Football Strategy Officer for the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL team owned by his father, and he’s the vice-chairman and director of football operations for Fulham.