411MANIA | AEW Revenue Reportedly Increased In 2023, Higher Than Expected
While average attendance and ratings have gone down this year, AEW has experienced growth when it comes to revenue...
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The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that while average attendance and ratings have gone down this year, AEW has experienced growth when it comes to revenue. The company expects to finish 2023 with $170 million to $175 million in revenue, higher than 2022. Last year was the company’s first year to hit $100 million and it barely hit that number.
What the final number reaches will depend on the final PPV buy numbers for All Out through Worlds End, along with AEW’s cut of ad revenue for their shows. Those in the company have noted a ‘disconnect’ between their success in revenue and increase from last year, compare to public perception that they are doing poorly.
2024 also has a chance of performing better than 2023, as it will include more PPVs and Collision will be weekly for the entire year instead of just over half of it. It’s unknown how much they’ll get from their TV deal in 2024, but when the original deal was made, 2024 was an option year that when picked up, included a “significant raise.” Of course that’s before the deal was altered to include Collision. There will also be no startup costs for Collision. All In will have a lower expense to run Wembley but there will be more set-up costs due to having to rush set production only a few days after a Taylor Swift concert.
That TV deal runs through the end of next year. How the company performs in 2025 will depend on their next TV deal, which is expected to be signed over the next several months.
As for 2023, there are several reasons for the increased revenue. All In brought in $16.5 million by itself, between the live gate, PPV and merchandise, before including sponsorships. AEW Fight Forever also brought in more revenue although that won’t be as prominent heading into 2024. TV taping and house show tickets brought in an estimated $18 million , merchandise had $4 million, live gates from the non-London PPVs were around $6 million. That’s a total estimate of $58.5 million, which would mean the remaining $111.5 to $116.5 million would be from worldwide media rights, sponsorships, television ad splits, licensing and video game revenue.
