Could AEWs Future TV be in jeopardy?

[Deezy]

HMMMM.....AEW or Dr Pimple Popper.

 

[Alexa]

I thought this was going to be about AEW wrestlers hosting or being on Jeopardy...I am disappointed

 

[Comrade Khan]

I thought this was going to be about AEW wrestlers hosting or being on Jeopardy...I am disappointed

I'll take Dont Work Yourself Into a Shoot for 1000

 

[Alexa]

I'll take Dont Work Yourself Into a Shoot for 1000

Who is Hulk Hogan?

 

[Marty McFourth]

Edit: Reddit post got removed.

 

[Swerve]

I doubt it.

 

[John McHenry]

Dave Meltzer explained on Wrestling Observer Radio, this is very bad news for AEW and its fans.
He said:

“Really the biggest stuff is the WBD (Warner Bros Discovery) news which, if you’re an AEW fan, the last two days… not good news at all. We knew that they were gonna do a slashing of the budgets, but it really feels like TNT is – whatever is the prestige programming that TNT had – that’s going to be out the window and, I just have this feeling aside from the NBA, that TNT’s just gonna be another station on cable as opposed to… and TBS, which were kind of like cable powerhouses. It looks like they just wanna slash things, and CNN too for that matter.

“They’re slashing everything. HBO Max is… I guess they’re gonna merge it but a lot of the executives at HBO Max are gonna be gone. A lot of the budget from HBO Max is probably gonna be down.

“They’re really trying to cut a lotta lotta money, and they know that the one thing that they feel they have to keep, which is gonna cost them a lot of money, is the NBA. So it’s going to be very interesting to see… it’s probably the worst time possible to go in there and ask for a big raise now. It’s going to be very interesting.

“I don’t see AEW being canceled. Most weeks it is the most popular show, unless it’s during NBA season, it’s the most popular show on either TNT or TBS, so you’re not gonna cut your highest rated show. I mean it’s possible, I’ve seen it happen, but it’s probably not gonna happen.

“But as far as giving (AEW) a big increase in rights (fees), they’re really going to have to find outside bidders, and then that becomes problematic because if you go to a weaker station, your numbers aren’t gonna look as good. One of the great things about being on TBS is, especially coming off of Big Bang Theory, you’ve got a good lead-in, you’ve got a station that people actually watch. It’s not like one of these stations that has a very very low viewership.

“Really, where they are positioned is probably about as good a positioning as you could get for the show. The only thing that would be better where they would do better would be if they were on ESPN, and that wouldn’t be better because, number one, ESPN hasn’t done pro-wrestling in a long long time and they probably don’t have an interest in doing it, but even if they did… I mean I guess they did show some WWE stuff during the pandemic, but really that was just a short-term thing, they didn’t follow up on that. But obviously you’d be preempted constantly, so it just would not be a good fit.

“This station is the perfect fit for AEW, but at the same time, you want to… the key way the company’s gonna be able to make money is through television rights, and if you want to make it a profitable company and your parent company is slicing budgets everywhere, and in ways that people do not expect it, such as stopping movies in production, stopping TV shows in production – it’s been a bloodletting there. And there’s probably still more to come.
“So the timing for AEW with their deal coming up which would be at the end of next year – the last two days haven’t looked good if you’ve been following the story, at all.”

 

[John McHenry]

But call me crazy for bringing up a few hours earlier than he did.

 

[Comrade Khan]

Lol at Meltzer on this, ill take the stats guy opinion (same guy who reported wwe's billion dollar peacock deal).

 

[Comrade Khan]

But please, keep dreaming AEW is in trouble, its been the same sky is falling narrative every time theres any change at Warner and its always been wrong. It will be wrong again. AeW is getting a raise, period.

 

[Comrade Khan]

one last thing:

I like Meltzer, but this is the same guy who kept saying WWE was in trouble as recently as 1 year ago because their ratings were declining. When it comes to the business side of things, his track record is poor.

 

[John McHenry]

I don't know why you think I want them to fail. Personally I wish Fox was an option for AEW. Or some sports network. The only thing I think they really need is a streaming deal. There are a lot of cord cutters out there (myself) and only the most die hard are going to hunt for a place to watch AEW which isn't in their numbers.

But also the Hulu numbers aren't being tallied for WWE on the same metrics either. Which for WWE is actually a better show over the past few years.

 

[Comrade Khan]

I don't know why you think I want them to fail. Personally I wish Fox was an option for AEW. Or some sports network. The only thing I think they really need is a streaming deal. There are a lot of cord cutters out there (myself) and only the most die hard are going to hunt for a place to watch AEW which isn't in their numbers.

But also the Hulu numbers aren't being tallied for WWE on the same metrics either. Which for WWE is actually a better show over the past few years.

I never said you personally there buddy, so if you feel targeted, that's on you.

They have a streaming deal outside the US, just need a VPN. Fox won't be an option, they have WWE. They might be bidders, but I very much doubt they leave Turner and why would they?

 

[Alexa]

Meltzer fell off

 

[Comrade Khan]

Meltzer fell off

he didn't even give the hayter tag match a 4, so yeah, he's shit