Thursday, March 28, 2024
NewsAEWBig Ally For AEW Leaving WarnerMedia, Organization Shake Up

Big Ally For AEW Leaving WarnerMedia, Organization Shake Up

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WarnerMedia is going through some major changes that may have an affect on AEW from a business point of view. Several executives including Kevin Reilly, who was a major part of getting AEW getting on the TNT network, has exited the company. Deadline reports that the company is shaking up its organizational structure following the ascension of Jason Kilar to the CEO position. Reily was the chief content officer for HBO Max and president of TNT, TBS, and truTV. Along with Reily, WarnerMedia executives and Direct-to-Consumer chairman Bob Greenblatt and Corporate Marking and Communications EVP Keith Cocozza.

The move is definitely pretty significant as it relates to AEW. AEW President Tony Khan has stated that he pitched Kevin Reilly on the concept and has credited Reilly for being a big supporter of AEW. Kevin Reilly has been with the Turner based networks since 2014 and renewed AEW Dynamite through 2024 and ordered a second series for their cable networks, even though a new series/show has yet to be announced by AEW at this time.

Warner Bros. head Ann Sarnoff will take over all network, film and TV studio and streaming assets as part of the newly-created Studios and Networks Group as the company streamlines its operations. Casey Bloys, the president of HBO Programming, will oversee original content for HBO Max, TNT, TBS, and truTV, and will report to Sarnoff.

Kilar sent an internal memo to WarnerMedia employees describing the changes as:

“* We are elevating HBO Max in the organization and expanding its scope globally.
* We are simplifying how we organize our studios.
* We are creating a consolidated International unit focused on scale and efficiency.
* We are bringing our key commercial activities into one group to allow us to operate more strategically.”

What this means for AEW is not necessarily clear at this time. While Reilly was a big ally of AEW’s in the WarnerMedia umbrella, AEW has been a solid performer for them and there’s no immediate indication that the company is on less secure ground with Warner outside of the obvious fact that they have lost a major ally. No comment has been made officially by Tony Khan or any representative from AEW. Be that as it may, this will be a very interesting situation moving forward.