AEW, WBD officially announce multi-year TV rights renewal

After months of speculation, AEW and Warner Bros. Discovery officially announced a multi-year renewal on Wednesday afternoon that will keep Dynamite and Collision on TBS and TNT, respectively, in addition to a streaming component on Max.

The number of years and the amount AEW will receive was not announced, but Variety reported that the deal is valued at upward of $150 million per year. What that amount covers is also unclear as of now.

Previous reporting by Puck’s John Ourand had a deal at three guaranteed years with an option for a fourth at a “ballpark” of $170 million annually. His report also included TruTV being included in the mix, but that was not mentioned in any reporting Wednesday.

SportsBusinessJournal reported after Wednesday’s announcement that the deal is “estimated to be valued at $170M total including the rights fee and other elements.”

Here are the highlights, first reported by The Wrap:

  • Dynamite and Collision will remain in their current homes and networks on both Wednesday and Saturday, respectively
  • Both Dynamite and Collision will stream live on Max for U.S. subscribers starting in 2025
  • AEW content that airs on any WBD network will also be available to stream on Max on-demand. How far back that content will go was not announced
  • Starting “later in 2025,” AEW and WBD will offer live PPVs on Max at a “discounted price per event” with all marketing and promotions of those PPV events exclusively centered on Max.
  • The new deal includes “enhanced distribution rights across social media as well as potential new AEW programming on linear and digital platforms.”

Neither Rampage or the quarterly Battle of the Belts specials were mentioned in either story, leaving the future of those properties unknown for now.

Since their launch in 2019, AEW has been exclusive to WBD which began with Dynamite and then expanded to Rampage, the quarterly Battle of the Belts series, and then, Collision last year.

This post will continue to be updated as we get more information.