On Wednesday it was announced that TNT has extended their deal with AEW for Dynamite through 2023.
Dave Meltzer of F4Wonline is reporting that the deal is for four years and $175 million, just under $45 million per year, and includes TNT having an option for 2024 at a significantly increased price.
It was revealed later by TNT’s president that AEW Dark would be moving to TNT in the near future.
On this morning’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer discussed some of the financial aspects of the deal and the news that a second show has been picked up by WarnerMedia.
AEW is getting guaranteed money for this year and is a big increase in what they’ve been getting out of the deal with WarnerMedia. Their previous deal had no guaranteed money but rather gave them a split of ad revenue and paid $26 million a year in production costs.
They will no longer have their production costs paid and they are also still getting the ad revenue split. Meltzer described the money from the ad revenue as a “substantial number.”
Regarding which night AEW Dark could air on, Meltzer noted that Sunday and Monday are out because AEW won’t go up against the NFL, and Wednesday already has AEW. Saturday would have them going up against the UFC and would sometimes conflict with their own PPV. Tuesday and Thursday are busy for TNT during the NBA season.
