A new multi-year multimedia rights agreement between AEW and Warner Bros. Discovery was officially announced this week.
As part of the new media rights deal, AEW pay-per-view events will be available on HBO MAX at a reduced cost later in 2025, while Dynamite and Collision will continue to air at their regular time slots.
Although the deal was reportedly valued at over $150 million annually, considering all aspects, it seems to be a conservative estimate.
On the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that the AEW-WBD deal is valued at $555 million over three years, averaging around $185 million annually, excluding the revenue from pay-per-view events.
Meltzer stated, “For next year, we go with $95 million in added money from the new deal, which would leave $61 million in profits as a worst case and $76 million as a best case, or perhaps a little less if attendance, merch or PPV decline.”
Unlike WWE, AEW is a privately owned company that does not disclose its actual figures. Therefore, the aforementioned numbers should be considered approximations.
Nevertheless, AEW is in a strong financial position, which has positive implications for the wrestling industry.
