According to an article released today in Forbes, AEW are reportedly still working in the red despite their $175 million broadcast deal with WarnerMedia. It is stated in the article that the main reason for the company failing to turn a profit overall, is an “eight-figure investment in video game development.” However, it was also noted in the article AEW President Tony Khan still expects the wrestling division of the company to be profitable this year, regardless of the over/under of the entire company.
Khan’s confidence likely stems from the aforementioned $175 million broadcast deal with WarnerMedia. The deal now only saw AEW Dynamite secure a place on the network for four years (till the end of 2023), it will also see AEW Rampage air on TNT before both it and Dynamite move to TBS in 2022.
However, it is not just Khan who has confidence in how AEW has performed since its arrival on TNT, with Brad Weitz general manager of TNT, TBS and truTV commenting about how Khan has performed so far stating:
“It was very clear we put ourselves in the right hands…. For someone to have the audacity to say, ‘I’m going to go take on the biggest wrestling league in the world and see if I can be a challenger brand,’ it takes chutzpah. And he nailed it.”
If it is the gaming department that causes AEW to be in the red are you looking forward to their first entry into the gaming world? The most recent WWE games have been met with huge criticism, could an AEW game be a good alternative? Let us know in the comments, or over on our Twitter and Facebook pages.
Some people have criticized AEW for their use of older wrestlers, but is that criticism justified? Find out one of our writer’s thoughts on the matter here.