Tony Khan says that AEW could potentially expand its pay-per-view calendar in the future, but only if a streaming deal enters the picture.
The company president spoke on this topic during an interview on the John Chuckery Show, where he mentioned that whatever happens the big five events (Double or Nothing, All Out, Full Gear, Forbidden Door, Revolution) will still be the primary focus as those are flagpole AEW events. Highlights from the interview can be found below.
Says AEW’s current model is working with traditional PPV as they only have five major events in a calendar year:
Well, we’ve been able to really make the events keep that super special feel, where there is so much anticipation building up to Revolution, Double or Nothing, Forbidden Door now, and of course, All Out and Full Gear. I think that with the current model we have, which is a la carte pay-per-view, true pay-per-view like so many of us grew up with, it makes a lot of sense. The price is about $49.99, and if somebody’s going to give us that $49.99, I would like them to feel like they’re getting a show they’ve really looked forward to for a long time and are getting maximum value.
Says if a streaming offer came along he would expand the PPV event calendar, but he would still consider the Big Five his tentpole events:
There are different ways to deliver shows now in the streaming economy, but I think in this current setup, we have a great calendar. If the delivery method changed or streaming enters the conversation for AEW because an AEW streaming platform is something I get asked about every day; I think for us right now, the way we’re doing pay-per-view makes sense, but if the right offer came along on streaming to expand the calendar, that’s something we have the capacity to do. I would only want to do it if we can make sure that we keep Revolution, Double or Nothing, Forbidden Door, All Out, and Full Gear as premium, top-end events like they are right now.
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)