AEW and Warner Bros. Discovery have been working together since 2019, but an upcoming bidding war could complicate their next deal together.
WBD contacts told Fightful that they expect NBCUniversal to make a bid for the NBA television rights that are coming up soon. The NBA has been a staple on TNT for years. It is noted that this could affect the budget that NBCUniversal has for WWE Raw and NXT, which have yet to be renewed. It was reported a couple months back that NBCUniversal did secure the rights to SmackDown, which will be returning to USA in 2024.
If WBD lost the NBA to NBCUniversal this would obviously affect its budget as well. As of this writing, AEW and WBD have not come to an agreement on a new television rights deal, which AEW hopes will include getting added to the network’s MAX streaming app. Tony Khan apparently has a particular value he believes the AEW library is worth. As a reminder, he is set to make a big announcement on this evening’s Dynamite.
As for WBD and AEW’s current relationship? WBD sources tell Fightful that the relationship is strong and that they are very happy with the AEW relationship. Regarding viewership numbers, WBD expected AEW to take a dip for Collision, which continues to go up against the NCAA.