Tony Khan: AEW is in ‘very deep, exciting conversations’ with WBD

Tony Khan is happy with the status of AEW’s negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery for its next media rights deal.

In an interview with the Battleground Podcast that was conducted before Dynamite this week, Khan was asked about AEW’s talks with WBD and how close the two sides are to getting a deal done. Khan said there are things to figure out and the talks are complex, but AEW and WBD are “in very deep, exciting conversations.” He called WBD a great partner and said the conversations they’re having are awesome.

“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 to everyone in AEW, that we’re able to put wrestling on TBS and TNT every week. When I grew up, and I think for you guys too growing up, wrestling on TBS and TNT was a big part of our childhoods. There was no wrestling on TNT for about 18 years and there was no wrestling on TBS for over 20 years, so it meant a lot to bring that back. In particular on TBS, that tradition goes back over 50 years. I love it here. And so we’re having great talks. It means the world to be able to do this. We’re in very deep, exciting conversations. There’s a lot to figure out because we have these great shows with AEW Dynamite, Rampage, and Collision,” Khan said

“Our prime time shows [Dynamite and Collision]… we’ve been doing great, great ratings with our flagship shows. And it’s a really exciting time. Like I said, this past week both shows did their biggest numbers in months. So it’s an exciting time for us to hit new highs. The conversations are awesome right now. There’s a lot to figure out with the AEW TV shows, our pay-per-view content, our streaming library, and all of these things. So it’s a lot of very complex conversations, but they’ve been great. And we’re having great talks with Warner Bros. Discovery now. And it’s a great partnership and we’re very fortunate to be here and it’s a great place, for wrestling in particular — TBS and TNT.”

AEW programming first debuted on WBD stations in 2019. It’s believed that the current deal expires around the end of this year/start of 2025.

Khan has said that finalizing the new deal would mean all of the investment that’s been made into AEW will have more than paid off.

The Battleground Podcast’s full interview with Khan can be watched below: