AEW TV rights negotiations megathread

[Chris]

damn you right I don't thin raw was ever 3 hours when i was a kid. am I crazy to remember a later air time than 8pm as well or mb that was just here

Nah Raw has always been basically the same time but they switched from 1 hour to 2 when Nitro started and then went to 3 hours in 2012.

This fall on USA will be the first time since the 90s they don't air in the 10 pm hour bc it's 8-10

 

[Chris]

From Observer radio

“Everyone knows, but the WBD deal is a done deal,” Meltzer said. “There are going to be changes, from what I gather there is going to be a pay-per-view component in this deal. Exactly what it is, I don’t know. But if they’re doubling the number [of the past media rights deal] and WBD is getting the rights to the pay-per-views, that makes doubling the number make more sense in a lot of ways — if they get that. I don’t know exactly if it’s going to be how UFC does it, if it’s going to be how WWE does it. But there is going to be a deal with Max with the pay-per-views in some form, is what it looks like.”

“The Fox deal is not done. I know a lot of people have been talking about the idea on the Fox network. I would strongly suspect — I do not know — but I would very strongly suspect it would not be on the Fox network,” Meltzer said. “It would probably be another station, whether it’s FS1, whether it’s a different station, whether it’s a streaming component, I don’t know. And I don’t believe it’s a done deal either. I think it’s something that they’re working on. Although as far as the Shockwave thing, they did trademark the name of Shockwave. So they have to be pretty darn close to a deal to actually go to the lengths of trademarking the name.”

 

[Chris]

This is a good source, John Ourand recently left Sports Business Journal to cover news himself independently

 

[Canadian Dragon]

So close to 3x the current TV deal

 

[Chris]

Yeah all estimates since we don't know the increase for Collision so 70k could be off anyway, but a success either way. With the TruTv content I'm thinking at least one more hour of extra content, Rampage might be moving there too so probably just safe to say double when factoring that in

 

[Canadian Dragon]

Yeah all estimates since we don't know the increase for Collision so 70k could be off anyway, but a success either way. With the TruTv content I'm thinking at least one more hour of extra content, Rampage might be moving there too so probably just safe to say double when factoring that in

Says they shopping another package on cable.

Either I can't wait for the horrible takes from the butthurt pods like Bishoff n Corny try to spin this a negative. I'll be like

 

[Chris]

Yeah this is just WBD and PPVs aren't included for the numbers either so they're probably getting more for that but we don't know method yet, I'm still assuming Max since that report is literally just TV channels only it seems

 

[Canadian Dragon]

Yeah this is just WBD and PPVs aren't included for the numbers either so they're probably getting more for that but we don't know method yet, I'm still assuming Max since that report is literally just TV channels only it seems

More for ppv plus "maybe" another 20-30 mill for an hour on cable would be dope.

Maybe kill botb n do a few max exclusive one offs shows?

I'll also be interested in rod's future. Might just stay on their own app.

N I'm guessing this increase doesn't include rampage ya? Feels like this is only for the 2 main shows

 

[Chris]

The increase most likely just includes whatever is their new planned TV, so just depends on if Rampage is planned or not I'd guess. With the TruTv line, something has to fill content there so Rampage seems like one easy candidate, it wouldn't even have to move time since they're supposed to be converting primetime TruTv to sports and Rampage is the last hour of primetime for Friday

 

[Canadian Dragon]

The increase most likely just includes whatever is their new planned TV, so just depends on if Rampage is planned or not I'd guess. With the TruTv line, something has to fill content there so Rampage seems like one easy candidate, it wouldn't even have to move time since they're supposed to be converting primetime TruTv to sports and Rampage is the last hour of primetime for Friday

That would be logical. I did read that truth is being rebranded to sports like the channel nxt is going to

 

[Chris]

Yeah CW is trying to move away from that teen channel with more sports rights, probably a good move bc streaming hits that stuff harder and sports is constant still, we'll just see if they made the switch quick enough.

And Tru is a weird experiment, they're keeping it the same most of the day (I have no idea what this channel shows anymore, I used to watch world's dumbest tho) but for primetime hours it's switching to be "TNT Sports" and treated as a separate thing

 

[Chris]

Also mostly unrelated but Meltzer went off on the tangent of international rights too and it's a very good point that there should be a lot of opportunities in just about every country imaginable starting in January bc everyone that has WWE rn is losing it to Netflix and in some of these countries like India, Netflix isn't all that popular.

Might kill the Triller subscription and I know they've had some international deals die out in the past, but I think they'd be foolish not to try and fill that WWE void on TV in those countries since all of it is moving to streaming

 

[Canadian Dragon]

 

[Chris]

I can't find what the source mentioned here actually is about Rampage, it's not Meltzer if anyone says bc he made it clear he was purely speculating that the TruTv content could be Dynamite and Collision replays, but multiple people are operating on the assumption that Rampage is done.

I'm still really skeptical unless I'm missing something (I'm not reading Ourand's report bc I'm not subscribed) bc it makes so much more sense to me to fill the TruTV time with one hour of rampage that they're already doing

EDIT: nvm I just saw the "source" is WON and that's just not true, it was said from the start they didn't know and we're speculating on replays and no rampage

 

[Chris]