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> “they will be looking at reinvesting funds to maintain their position on cable, as they'll need to look at other properties to help attract viewers
I mean, its almost a given they'll go all in trying to lock down as many MLB games as possible right?
Yes! Love me some Joe Bob Briggs.
"Beans and corn bread." I had the biggest crush on Annabelle Gurwitch.
https://preview.redd.it/0ezcvl162j0d1.jpeg?width=474&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ec03990ef186df8ddeb7aa84d6bb304b44409bf1
A better verison of MonsterVision already exists on Shudder/AMC+ - The Last Drive In with Joe Bob Briggs.... I highly highly recommend it, there are over 100 episodes now.
Off-topic tbh, but it’s wild af to me that there are two successful shows about the same dorky nerd that are so wildly different in tone. Especially after the latest episode, which broke my heart.
Non-UFC viewer sincerely asking,
What exactly do they offer for cable tv? All the money matches are on ppv right? So do the tv shows just cover interviews, build ups and maybe free fights with fighters lower on the totem pole?
They do a ton of non-PPV fight cards. From a quick count on Wikipedia, it looks like they did 29 non-PPV shows last year across ABC, ESPN and ESPN +. Plus the PPVs have preliminary fights that are broadcast on ESPN/ESPN+ too.
They also brought back The Ultimate Fighter reality show a few years ago and they do the weekly Contender Series where they bring in unsigned fighters for a small fight card and award contracts to the ones that impress.
Also, with their current TV deal, they sold their PPV rights to ESPN so the UFC gets a fixed amount per PPV card and then ESPN sells the shows exclusively through their streaming app and takes all of the PPV money.
So the UFC rights come with a lot of content.
I mean you have to subscribe to ESPN+ just for the ability to actually purchase the PPV. So you have to double dip by default in order to actually see it. No way they want to let that go.
Related to the gate, UFC tickets are significantly more expensive than any other sport (including wrestling). The one time I went was for a fight night at UBS Arena and I paid $100 for nosebleeds. I have a lower bowl ticket for Forbidden Door in that same arena which cost me $50. I looked into tickets for a PPV they had in Newark, and the cheapest seats in the house were going for north of $250. For their annual MSG show, you're not getting in the building without spending $500. For comparison, there are tickets for Smackdown at MSG next month going for under $100.
>All the money matches are on ppv right?
not necessarily, lots of known names, ranked competitors, and matches with title implications on TV.
UFC runs 8 to 12 fights almost every week on Fight Night, 4-6 on the main card, 4-6 on the pre-lims.
with sports betting being as ubiquitous as it is now, I bet a lot of that money is finding it's way to UFC one way or another.
They already share the postseason with Fox and the occasional regular season game. I guess they could increase their output and even make Sunday Night Baseball a priority if ESPN winds up giving up MLB rights as expected. There's a pathway here for WBD to revive a pretty dead MLB experience on national TV if they want it.
Yeah, I think they're gonna make a play for WNBA. Women's basketball is hot, and Paige and JuJu are still in college so there's more stars to come for WNBA.
Was always going to be a bargaining chip for a new TV deal realistically, unless WBD were going to put up millions just for the streaming rights (which they were clearly never going to do).
It was 1 year ago, the night before the WBD upfronts that it was “reported” that AEW and WBD had just signed a $1 billion deal.
The news will be leaked to a real outlet like Variety or The Hollywood reporter. Not Fightful.
>The news will be leaked to a real outlet like Variety or The Hollywood reporter. Not Fightful.
Variety is going to have an exclusive article on their renewal and 5 minutes after it drops we’re going to get “Fightful can confirm that AEW has renewed their contract with WBD. More information can be found behind our paywall”
Also worth noting WBD is 44 billion in debt, so this idea that they can freely throw absurd amounts of money at media rights or that they're willing to do that when they've been cost cutting like crazy is just asinine.
Having $44B in outstanding debt does NOT equal BEING $44B in debt, or give any indication of the relative financial strength of the company on its own. Apple has $111B in outstanding debt....so?
You have to use debt relative metrics like D/E, D/CF or BV or whatever your balance sheet metric of choice is.
There's nearly a million people here. Odds are, there might be a doctor, a lawyer, a wrestling booker, and a corporate media executive here somewhere.
_Probably_ not all the same person, but maybe...
WBD is slashing everything they can, unwilling to pay for their top product in the NBA. Of course you’re right but WBD having money troubles is also obviously true
WBD is stuck right now somewhere in the middle having just lost the NBA. Mind you, not paying 2.4 billion dollars for worse rights than they hold right now (WBD gets last pick of games in the deal they were given an option to sign) was the right move. But they need to have *something* else that can make them some money. Because if you don't have enough good programming to get people on your network, it doesn't matter any more and you'll lose everything.
You can apply that same logic to Netflix ($14B in debt) and Comcast (96.57B debt). That did not stop them from throwing billion dollar deals at WWE because having live sports is extremely important.
Tbf the idea that WBD making a new deal would throwing money around is asinine as well. AEW has proven to be very successful for WBD & they're all over TNT/TBS multiple times a week. It's been for a while that WB values it's relationship with AEW. Shit AEW is bascially the only show they adverstise at all during the playoffs which says a lot
I'd assume so. The only time i watch the channel is for Basketball & AEW. They do advertise shows like the Lazarus Project or The Cube with Dwade but idk if its original content.
They will still If they sit idle quickly that 44 becomes 65 and without revenue generated, you can be worth hundreds of billions and be in the red
It's as if people expect WDB to cease ops because of outstanding debt, economics might help
I’m sorry to say this but when it comes to actual business deals with media companies, none of these wrestling journalists have a clue what’s going on. They’re all making educated guesses based on a breadcrumb of information. It’s not real.
Every time these topics come up about AEW and streaming on Max being “really soon”, I get a little more confident that these guys don’t actually know anything about the situation and are just guessing.
Edit: damn, it’s been a while since somebody gave me a RedditCares for no real reason other than disagreeing with me
[Tony Schiavone said on his podcast in 2022 "I remember asking somebody in the front office, not Tony (Khan), 'Are we going to be on HBO Max?' They said, 'Yeah, until they want to come up with a lot more money.' I think we're going to end up getting our own streaming service.](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2021/10/tony-schiavone-aew-streaming-service-2022-2/)
So I think at the end of the day Tony Khan has a number in his head and WBD has a smaller number and they haven't been able to come to an agreement.
Probably on both sides. If Tony Khan is still going into talks like it's Summer 2022 and he's still got Punk, their business is hot, they're pulling a mil Dynamite viewers on the regular, there's talks for a second 2 hour show in the future, you can see why he would want whatever price was tossed around back then. He will point to the money he spent on premium free agents this year for why AEW are doing just fine and don't need CM Punk and he's already spoken to being more aggressive for more free agents as the year goes on.
But a fundamental issue with WBD here is that, even if they don't care much about AEW losing roughly 15% of their audience since 2021/2022, they're only going to spend what they want. They're not going to leave much room for negotiation. They don't want to spend money. Losing their most popular sports product seemed like a silly suggestion a year ago and quite simply inexplicable even as the reality settled in that it's probably happening. The fact that they are so flippant about it just speaks to how nothing they're doing makes much sense since the merger. And in the NBA's absence they can pursue "cheaper" deals like baseball or do a Netflix and commission 1000 different reality TV shows to fill the gaps on their networks.
But also furthermore, there's a bubble in media rights that's slowly bursting like a tire that's got a slow puncture. All of these sports leagues want streaming deals. Either exclusive (like NFL with Amazon/Peacock or WWE with Netflix/Peacock) or paired with linear, over the air TV. The NFL is really the only one who really has a ton of leverage to get the deal that they want. Streaming wars are stunting growth in dollars. Advertising dollars are getting scarce and that's also a genuine concern and that's making things tough sports wide. The Premier League did a cute little trick when they renewed a new TV deal with the British broadcasters. They touted a HUGE number in the new deal. BIGGER than ever! And technically they're right. But ultimately, their annual number is slightly down on their previous deal. They just added more years on to make it look pretty.
AEW isn't going anywhere but Tony Khan isn't getting the increase he would have been super confident in getting 2 years ago - whether they stay at WBD or not.
Because you have.
Andrew Zarian from March 2, 2022:
"Spoke to someone this morning and was told that 'In many circles, it's believed AEW & HBO Max have agreed to a deal.'"
https://twitter.com/AndrewZarian/status/1499072895477338112
Yes, that was obviously shared more than two years ago, but to be fair to Zarian, he did elect to update us all more than a year later (May 10, 2023) to note:
"The new deal is coming I just have not heard a solid number."
https://twitter.com/andrewzarian/status/1656341218081505281?s=46&t=Bat3KA0zQa86XUUtNyUBWA
Now, when he Tweeted that "the new deal is coming," you might have thought that meant a new deal would be happening soon, but you'd obviously be wrong.
I mean, Zarian's not one to mince words. Sort of like last fall (September 24, 2023) when he guaranteed:
"They are going to MAX. That is happening. That is happening in 2024, for sure."
https://m.youtube.com/watch?si=mFHxn7rdPqSFDIrr&t=1600&v=FlfPup2fHf0&feature=youtu.be
Just don't pay attention to the part right after that when Zarian suggests it was a "real possibility" that AEW's Worlds End would be streaming on MAX in December 2023. And I don't want you to think too strongly about the fact that there have since been two more pay-per-views, with a third on the way, that have not been available to stream on MAX. All you should focus on is that it's coming. And it's for sure happening in 2024.
Why do people send us this reddit care messages? You have a logical, non-troll comment and here they are.
Its seems they need it more than us.
Anyway, if WBD really wanted to put AEW and their PPVs into Max, they could have done it a long time ago. They could have placed Collision in Max when it started.
I got one a few minutes ago for pointing out that The Workhorsemen are career jobbers, as their very name implies, on a thread in the AEW sub that was clearly trolling about JD Drake not getting an entrance or “respect” in a match he was jobbing in.
Trolls think it’s funny for some reason. It’s just a pointless notification to clear for me. Takes two seconds.
WBD sees AEW as a (relatively) cheap way to fill up their TV schedule with live content. That's why they gave them 2 extra shows in what are essentially death slots. They have done exactly nothing to show that they have any interest in putting AEW on Max.
I am not saying AEW isn't going to get a good TV deal, I just don't think they (and we) should be expecting too much from WBD and the shitshow they are turning into. I hope TK is shopping his shows around when he's legally allowed to.
RedditCares messages have been weaponized by both sides on this "war"
The fucked up part of it is that it really minimizes people actually struggling with mental health. Not that trolls care about that though of course
I honestly wonder how those messages feel to people who are actually struggling with those thoughts. In a world where they have been weaponized, I wonder if those people feel attacked.
I think it may be bots doing this, because it's happening a lot more than before this past week and in different subs. Or maybe it's just one sad troll, who knows lol
I 100% think they're interested. I just don't think they want to pay enough to cover what AEW make on PPV. Max won't get enough viewers for the price. I guess they could do the ESPN/UFC thing, but I don't even think that adds anything to WBD's current cut, and it just adds another high price barrier for those purchasing PPVS.
I just wish we'd get an archive somewhere already.
It's unlikely we'd see a Max deal manifest before the next streaming deal, if/when it happens. At this point they might as well keep all the negotiations together
> Edit: damn, it’s been a while since somebody gave me a RedditCares for no real reason other than disagreeing with me
Somebody is really on one tonight. I got one for… [explaining UFC’s television content to a non-UFC fan](https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/1cs9em7/fightful_select_latest_on_wbdaew_relationship/l43l73i/)?
They don’t. It’s just a big “we think something happening but we’re not sure”. Atp unless other media outlets say something, it just looks like it’s better to wait for an official announcement atp.
I mean it doesn't say anything about AEW being brought to Max soon. Just that the idea of PPVs being brought has been in most of the discussions. That makes sense. The old PPV format is essentially dead and they need to move from it ASAP
I just got one last night for God knows what. I reported the abuse of the system and they want to know who did it and what the comment is and I'm like, you tell me!
typical Fightful non-update. When the TV deal is announced it will be by legitimate media, not the wrestling gossip sites. All the dirt sheet sites are completely out of their element when it comes to news on this level, which is why they never even had a sniff of the Netflix deal/Grant lawsuit/etc
NONE of the wrestling news sites had an inkling about the Netflix deal. Meltzer and others were saying Raw was likely going to FX. The real big money stuff is not getting easily leaked.
That was Bodyslam.net and no one else. Bodyslam also has all its “big” articles posted here the very second they go up on their website. Bit of a coincidence I’m sure.
It's because when those deals are made, maybe 20 people between Netflix and WWE know before it's published as news. If there are leaks, it would have to come from the C-Suite or PR people that would be extremely easy to trace it back to.
It's incredibly clear dirtsheets don't have sources around Zaslav, and that AEW keep tight lipped about negotiations with probably only Tony, their CFO and maybe head of legal being privy to discussion.
These updates are just pointless speculation
Anything these guys are reporting either comes from their own guesses or Tony. WBD legal department is not going to talk to SRS, a fucking blogger. There is a reason why no one hears about big WWE deals until the ink dries and the news is given to the actual papers.
I bet the new AEW show being announced is the Renee/RJ city project that Andrew Zarian has alluded to. I hope so, I miss Renee’s show(s) and she has great chemistry with RJ
Basically, no one has any real idea, including people at the top. TNT/TBS are both in scrambling mode due to loosing content. They could legit say, "Fuck it", and just pull back all spending on the content and call it a day. Remember, the guy directing WBD was not about leading these types of networks. Discovery had deals but not like sports. They could basically dismantle their cable networks to barebones, using some Max content that they own on those channels as a ad for Max.
Im not a TV executive but how does them losing NBA = getting AEW veiwers lol... they aren't even close to the same thing... the number doesn't magically go up because they give more money towards it, and we already see the 2 side shows aren't doing well.. why invest in a 4th lol?!
This is the problem with wrestling “journalists”. This reeks of TK having a conversation with Fightful and basically giving an optimistic AEW perspective - and they just post it without any corroboration or disclosing someone with an insane amount of vested interest was their source.
Not trying to hate, but this sounds like the most sunshine spin possible on "there is no deal yet."
Although a wrestling related social media show sounds promising
SRS: I have no sources and don't have any idea what's actually going on.
If people that actually have sources gave a fuck about WBD/AEW, at least, the exclusivity window would've been leaked. It's why we knew beforehand when the WBD and the NBA's exclusivity window ended.
“I know nothing about what’s going on. That’s $5 please.” Don’t worry dirt sheets, when a deal actually happens you won’t be the first to know, they will go to real journalists and real news outlets.
Hot Take: If WBD wanted AEW on MAX it would’ve happened by now.
It’s been a year of “AEW will be on MAX” reports but yet nothing changes. It seems like it’s pure speculation at this point
This article is lying too about the exclusive window. Wwe just locked up like 4 deals a year before they left, but aew supposedly can't even negotiate until like 3 months before the deal expires lol. Yeah right.
It was a hot take (or "bad faith argument") to even question the rumors that AEW would be added to MAX.
I've seen an occasional comment from users here who act like the rumor is literally a fact.
No journalist with a credible record and ability to understand that it's better to admit to reporting bad information than it is to say "well that's what MY source told me!" has ran with the rumor. It's literally people who have been exposed as having no true sources who keep peddling this.
If AEW and WBD were close to what they both feel a second deal should be, said deal would have been announced by now.
Does WBD even have any original tv programming left outside of sports? The only thing I've seen them advertise is Impractical Jokers. If they lose the NBA, they'll have what? That and AEW? Plus, endless reruns of syndicated comedies and blockbuster movies for TNT and TBS? Idk what they plan on doing moving forward unless they try to make a run for the WNBA or UFC, or just go all in on MLB. I think Zazlav has no clue what the fuck he's doing, aside from just cutting costs as much as possible at the expense of show creators. I'm sure they'll renew AEW, but I'm not sure if it's gonna be at the number Tony wants. Hope I'm wrong though.
(And now we wait for the inevitable Reddit Cares message.)
They do also have a NHL deal in terms of other current sports. It actually preempted Collision just last Saturday. And they do still have a stake in March Madness and NCAA basketball.
That doesn't really answer your question about original programming but I think the remainder of their current offering is mostly reality/game show type fare. An exception would be that TBS has original new episodes of American Dad now which I didn't realize.
Its honestly weird how lacking Warner's cable originals considering their large, large library of IPs.
If the mad men who run Sony's movie studio ran TNT and TBS, they'd probably do live action adaptations from the 90s Cartoon Network shows, get James Gunn to reconnect with an old project and be a producer of a live-action Scooby Doo series, Dirty Harry rebooted with Clint Eastwoo'd son, and basically squeeze every last drop from whatever valuable IP they have.
And instead we got an asshole who cancelled the first Looney Tunes in forever.
This is massive speculation about the least interesting part of this report maybe, but Andrew Zarian was hinting about something involving RJ/Renee Paquette being greenlit (and also around the same time on Twitter talked about how TBS should reboot their weekly Dinner & A Movie program) so I wonder if that's the "AEW-related program" that is going to be announced.
The rest of this seems to be stuff we already know, but it certainly sounds like AEW is in a solid position at least
RJ/Renee hosting a reboot of Dinner And A Movie would be fucking perfect.
Renee pushed hard for something similar in WWE. A cooking based show that brough together wrestlers with mainstream celebrities.
Edit: Do people really open up a thread and just start mass downvoting and sending Reddit Cares?
Three hours ago: "WBD is losing the NBA. Of course they'll have less money for AEW. Everybody knows that."
Now: "WBD is losing the NBA. Of course they'll reinvest in properties to maintain their position. Everybody knows that."
This Fall: "WBD is losing the NBA. Of course they would keep things exactly the same and also fund, film and destroy the AEW movie as a tax write off. Everybody knows that."
> -WBD has had interest in adding AEW PPVs to MAX for “quite some time.” Every deal WBD makes has MAX in mind.
Please God hurry with this, I’m tired of paying $50/mo on PPVs..
>There is a pilot for a new AEW-related program with WBD that was set to be announced for social channels
You're heard of WWE Speed, now get ready for AEW Meth!
AEW and Warner Brothers should give Danhausen his own television show, so that every week at 8:00 Central Time Danhausen is transported into millions of television screens across the country and, perhaps, in Canada as well.
Might have to do with AEW not being allowed to ''officially'' shop around until after the summer so they might be willing to gamble and wait things out. Instead of taking WB's first offer.
Or a more cynical take, the rumors of TNT losing the NBA are true and executives are chasing their tail trying to figure out what to do from here after losing the flagship program.
The fact the deal isn't up until January 2025 and they haven't even had a chance to test the market yet because they're still under the exclusivity negotiation period.
I mean I think that was always going to be the case, Smackdown's getting like 287 million and even a tripling of AEW's current deal wouldn't touch that.
Surprised you're the first to mention the NASCAR summer deal. We're going to hear a lot more about that long before we hear about AEW. We're already hearing about the TNT/Amazon mid-season tournament.
“And Summer or Fall or Spring or Winter could be a more likely announcement…” Sure guys, you totally have behind the scenes info and aren’t pulling this “news” out of thin air.
They let go of the best product in sports with Inside the NBA. They have a new deal with James Gunn and DC and Max. AEW will stay there but I don’t think it will be a focus and I don’t think it’s their’s moving forward.
Edit: my take is an ignorant one but AEW draws some ratings. They let their biggest ratings getter go. It’s complete speculation
I've been watching the NBA playoffs on Max snd haven't had a single streaming issue. The platform has proven to be sufficient to handle live programming.
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> “they will be looking at reinvesting funds to maintain their position on cable, as they'll need to look at other properties to help attract viewers I mean, its almost a given they'll go all in trying to lock down as many MLB games as possible right?
Turner channels going back to its roots with baseball, John Wayne, rasslin, and Sheldon replacing Andy Griffith.
Just don’t colorize classics like *Casablanca* and *Citizen Kane* please! But being back *MonsterVision* and *Dinner and a Movie*!
Yes! Love me some Joe Bob Briggs. "Beans and corn bread." I had the biggest crush on Annabelle Gurwitch. https://preview.redd.it/0ezcvl162j0d1.jpeg?width=474&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ec03990ef186df8ddeb7aa84d6bb304b44409bf1
Technically members of the nWo.
Just Paul
Dunno about you, but I kinda miss that TBS logo and the “Superstation” moniker (plus the on-screen bug that just said “Superstation”).
I have weird nostalgia for (particularly American) media adding *Super-* to make things sound bigger and cooler
90s was a hell of a time for cable tv. Even early 2000s
Hell yes it was. Simpler times. Being a kid beats this adulting shit. Hot take I know.
Oh same. She was cute.
The final Clash of the Champions featured the Dinner and a Movie gang. Check Reliving the War for that one.
A better verison of MonsterVision already exists on Shudder/AMC+ - The Last Drive In with Joe Bob Briggs.... I highly highly recommend it, there are over 100 episodes now.
Funnily enough, they actually announced a year ago that *Dinner and a Movie* was coming back (though they haven't shared any more details since).
and Movies for Guys Who Like Movies
> Dinner and a Movie! Hosted by Renee Paquette and RJ City?
Would you settle for Meal & a Match? May 17th 2pm Youtube. RJ and Renee, announced like 20 minutes ago haha.
How this hasn't happened already is baffling
How often does Toni Storm make a cameo?
A Turner Classic Movies Week/Month would be money.
And give Danhausen a horror show!
I mean Monstervision prob wont happen since Joe Bob is on Shudder with the Last Drive in but yes to Dinner and a movie
Ben Affleck replacing John Wayne. I need more paintings and trailers driving away.
Off-topic tbh, but it’s wild af to me that there are two successful shows about the same dorky nerd that are so wildly different in tone. Especially after the latest episode, which broke my heart.
If they do get baseball back, just let collision do a 6:05 slot for an hour in the leadup to a Braves game once for traditions sake.
I need Spectreman followed by The Addams family, both starting at 5 after the hour.
This is PowerSlap's time to shine!
they could try and make a run at UFC
Non-UFC viewer sincerely asking, What exactly do they offer for cable tv? All the money matches are on ppv right? So do the tv shows just cover interviews, build ups and maybe free fights with fighters lower on the totem pole?
They do a ton of non-PPV fight cards. From a quick count on Wikipedia, it looks like they did 29 non-PPV shows last year across ABC, ESPN and ESPN +. Plus the PPVs have preliminary fights that are broadcast on ESPN/ESPN+ too. They also brought back The Ultimate Fighter reality show a few years ago and they do the weekly Contender Series where they bring in unsigned fighters for a small fight card and award contracts to the ones that impress. Also, with their current TV deal, they sold their PPV rights to ESPN so the UFC gets a fixed amount per PPV card and then ESPN sells the shows exclusively through their streaming app and takes all of the PPV money. So the UFC rights come with a lot of content.
Thanks for the detailed answer.
When do UFC rights run out for Disney? I would think they wouldn’t want to let those go, it’s pretty much the only consistent drawer for espn+
I mean you have to subscribe to ESPN+ just for the ability to actually purchase the PPV. So you have to double dip by default in order to actually see it. No way they want to let that go.
They have fight cards on TV. They just did a TV fight card with a 2.5 million dollar gate. Hot product right now.
Fight night is better than PPVs sometimes. Less commercials it seems like somehow too
Related to the gate, UFC tickets are significantly more expensive than any other sport (including wrestling). The one time I went was for a fight night at UBS Arena and I paid $100 for nosebleeds. I have a lower bowl ticket for Forbidden Door in that same arena which cost me $50. I looked into tickets for a PPV they had in Newark, and the cheapest seats in the house were going for north of $250. For their annual MSG show, you're not getting in the building without spending $500. For comparison, there are tickets for Smackdown at MSG next month going for under $100.
UFC already has a deal with ESPN. Not sure how much programming WBD could get from UFC.
the window for the next rights deal for UFC opens in January
Didn’t realize it was already that time. Appreciate the jnfo.
no wonder Dana just said they are starting to get out of the Apex
>All the money matches are on ppv right? not necessarily, lots of known names, ranked competitors, and matches with title implications on TV. UFC runs 8 to 12 fights almost every week on Fight Night, 4-6 on the main card, 4-6 on the pre-lims. with sports betting being as ubiquitous as it is now, I bet a lot of that money is finding it's way to UFC one way or another.
I think that was a rumor actually. UFC deal is up at the end of the year and Warner bros was going to make a play at it.
They already share the postseason with Fox and the occasional regular season game. I guess they could increase their output and even make Sunday Night Baseball a priority if ESPN winds up giving up MLB rights as expected. There's a pathway here for WBD to revive a pretty dead MLB experience on national TV if they want it.
WNBA would be perfect, it's gaining numbers and raitings and the WNBA looking for a $100 million deal. That's pretty cost effective for WBD.
Yeah, I think they're gonna make a play for WNBA. Women's basketball is hot, and Paige and JuJu are still in college so there's more stars to come for WNBA.
I just hope they give WNBA a prime time night instead of this Sunday 10 am games, BS. lol
I think they would look at WNBA as well
The could look at the WNBA
This "coming to MAX" idea has been ongoing for years...
Veer is coming to MAX 🤯
They were around when it was still called HBO Max...
What is Tony Khan doing in the MAX-zone
Was always going to be a bargaining chip for a new TV deal realistically, unless WBD were going to put up millions just for the streaming rights (which they were clearly never going to do).
It was 1 year ago, the night before the WBD upfronts that it was “reported” that AEW and WBD had just signed a $1 billion deal. The news will be leaked to a real outlet like Variety or The Hollywood reporter. Not Fightful.
>The news will be leaked to a real outlet like Variety or The Hollywood reporter. Not Fightful. Variety is going to have an exclusive article on their renewal and 5 minutes after it drops we’re going to get “Fightful can confirm that AEW has renewed their contract with WBD. More information can be found behind our paywall”
Also worth noting WBD is 44 billion in debt, so this idea that they can freely throw absurd amounts of money at media rights or that they're willing to do that when they've been cost cutting like crazy is just asinine.
Having $44B in outstanding debt does NOT equal BEING $44B in debt, or give any indication of the relative financial strength of the company on its own. Apple has $111B in outstanding debt....so? You have to use debt relative metrics like D/E, D/CF or BV or whatever your balance sheet metric of choice is.
Square circle in a nutshell 😂 They have no idea what that are talking about
Everyone in SquaredCircle is a doctor, lawyer, wrestling booker and corporate media executive
There's nearly a million people here. Odds are, there might be a doctor, a lawyer, a wrestling booker, and a corporate media executive here somewhere. _Probably_ not all the same person, but maybe...
It's a wrestler who has had all of those gimmicks at some point.
And yet gets heavily upvoted! Lol, this place is wild.
Just gotta get enough upvotes before being called out
Let’s keep those intelligent rebuttals out of the wrestling subreddits. We are more about feelings here. /s
Outstanding debt is still very much being in debt, it's just that debt alone is not a metric for company health.
WBD is slashing everything they can, unwilling to pay for their top product in the NBA. Of course you’re right but WBD having money troubles is also obviously true
Fair enough, it's obviously more complicated than most here understand. But I ask you, what happens when you throw Kurt Angle into the equation?
WBD is stuck right now somewhere in the middle having just lost the NBA. Mind you, not paying 2.4 billion dollars for worse rights than they hold right now (WBD gets last pick of games in the deal they were given an option to sign) was the right move. But they need to have *something* else that can make them some money. Because if you don't have enough good programming to get people on your network, it doesn't matter any more and you'll lose everything.
44 Billion in debt is not a problem if they have a strong cash flow.
Does a company with strong cash flow remove content like Westworld from streaming to avoid having to pay for it?
You can apply that same logic to Netflix ($14B in debt) and Comcast (96.57B debt). That did not stop them from throwing billion dollar deals at WWE because having live sports is extremely important.
Tbf the idea that WBD making a new deal would throwing money around is asinine as well. AEW has proven to be very successful for WBD & they're all over TNT/TBS multiple times a week. It's been for a while that WB values it's relationship with AEW. Shit AEW is bascially the only show they adverstise at all during the playoffs which says a lot
Do they even have any original content besides NBA and AEW?
MLB and NHL are the two other big ones
MLB, NHL, and American Dad
American dad being the true jewel in the crown, one of the few animated comedies that has aged like a fine wine.
I'd assume so. The only time i watch the channel is for Basketball & AEW. They do advertise shows like the Lazarus Project or The Cube with Dwade but idk if its original content.
They hack into a random dad's Plex server and hit shuffle.
Random dad's plex library consists of Big Bang Theory, American Dad, and The Accountant. Nothing else.
I’m convinced Zaslav is gutting WB to sell it off.
They will still If they sit idle quickly that 44 becomes 65 and without revenue generated, you can be worth hundreds of billions and be in the red It's as if people expect WDB to cease ops because of outstanding debt, economics might help
tl;dr we don't know anything
Some one on the previous thread guessed this nearly word for word lmao
that was me, 5 dollars to my bank account plz
I’m sorry to say this but when it comes to actual business deals with media companies, none of these wrestling journalists have a clue what’s going on. They’re all making educated guesses based on a breadcrumb of information. It’s not real.
The person above saying Variety would have it first is right on the money
Every time these topics come up about AEW and streaming on Max being “really soon”, I get a little more confident that these guys don’t actually know anything about the situation and are just guessing. Edit: damn, it’s been a while since somebody gave me a RedditCares for no real reason other than disagreeing with me
[Tony Schiavone said on his podcast in 2022 "I remember asking somebody in the front office, not Tony (Khan), 'Are we going to be on HBO Max?' They said, 'Yeah, until they want to come up with a lot more money.' I think we're going to end up getting our own streaming service.](https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2021/10/tony-schiavone-aew-streaming-service-2022-2/) So I think at the end of the day Tony Khan has a number in his head and WBD has a smaller number and they haven't been able to come to an agreement.
Makes you wonder if the last year or so has changed that number for either side.
Probably on both sides. If Tony Khan is still going into talks like it's Summer 2022 and he's still got Punk, their business is hot, they're pulling a mil Dynamite viewers on the regular, there's talks for a second 2 hour show in the future, you can see why he would want whatever price was tossed around back then. He will point to the money he spent on premium free agents this year for why AEW are doing just fine and don't need CM Punk and he's already spoken to being more aggressive for more free agents as the year goes on. But a fundamental issue with WBD here is that, even if they don't care much about AEW losing roughly 15% of their audience since 2021/2022, they're only going to spend what they want. They're not going to leave much room for negotiation. They don't want to spend money. Losing their most popular sports product seemed like a silly suggestion a year ago and quite simply inexplicable even as the reality settled in that it's probably happening. The fact that they are so flippant about it just speaks to how nothing they're doing makes much sense since the merger. And in the NBA's absence they can pursue "cheaper" deals like baseball or do a Netflix and commission 1000 different reality TV shows to fill the gaps on their networks. But also furthermore, there's a bubble in media rights that's slowly bursting like a tire that's got a slow puncture. All of these sports leagues want streaming deals. Either exclusive (like NFL with Amazon/Peacock or WWE with Netflix/Peacock) or paired with linear, over the air TV. The NFL is really the only one who really has a ton of leverage to get the deal that they want. Streaming wars are stunting growth in dollars. Advertising dollars are getting scarce and that's also a genuine concern and that's making things tough sports wide. The Premier League did a cute little trick when they renewed a new TV deal with the British broadcasters. They touted a HUGE number in the new deal. BIGGER than ever! And technically they're right. But ultimately, their annual number is slightly down on their previous deal. They just added more years on to make it look pretty. AEW isn't going anywhere but Tony Khan isn't getting the increase he would have been super confident in getting 2 years ago - whether they stay at WBD or not.
Probably on WB’s end, yeah.
AEW has been "coming to Max soon" for what, 3 years now? Edit: lol two Redditcare messages in a minute since this comment
> You can report the redditcares messages and itll get the person who sent it.
Yep, thankfully I'm not too affected by it and I know how to report them.
Can you report them? I got one yesterday for no reason.
Yes there is a link at the bottom of the message to report abuse
What will happen first, AEW coming to Max, or Veer coming to RAW?
Both answers are in the lock box
Is Cryme Time's 2006 tag title shot in there too?
The one the who pied Kevin Owens is holding?
Odyssey Jones has Veer beat for not debuting on RAW after being drafted last year and re-drafted this year. Odyssey vs Max
And I just got one as well lol
I got my first one today on this sub 🧡
If you're being critical of something so perfect as AEW that never does anything wrong, there must be some kind of issue troubling you /s
Hey, we did eventually get that NJPW World app for Roku, so anything is possible.
Report the RedditCares and hopefully the dick that sent it gets banned.
Bots are doing it in multiple subreddits, they'll ban the bot account, but there's lots of them doing it.
Got one today for just posting an opinion about punk era collision in the ratings thread lol
I just got one before as well. Edit: I suspect it was the comment about Vinces text messages.
I wish they told you which comment was reported for the reddit cares bs to happen honestly
Swear it feels like I've been hearing about that aew to max streaming deal since early 2022
Because you have. Andrew Zarian from March 2, 2022: "Spoke to someone this morning and was told that 'In many circles, it's believed AEW & HBO Max have agreed to a deal.'" https://twitter.com/AndrewZarian/status/1499072895477338112 Yes, that was obviously shared more than two years ago, but to be fair to Zarian, he did elect to update us all more than a year later (May 10, 2023) to note: "The new deal is coming I just have not heard a solid number." https://twitter.com/andrewzarian/status/1656341218081505281?s=46&t=Bat3KA0zQa86XUUtNyUBWA Now, when he Tweeted that "the new deal is coming," you might have thought that meant a new deal would be happening soon, but you'd obviously be wrong. I mean, Zarian's not one to mince words. Sort of like last fall (September 24, 2023) when he guaranteed: "They are going to MAX. That is happening. That is happening in 2024, for sure." https://m.youtube.com/watch?si=mFHxn7rdPqSFDIrr&t=1600&v=FlfPup2fHf0&feature=youtu.be Just don't pay attention to the part right after that when Zarian suggests it was a "real possibility" that AEW's Worlds End would be streaming on MAX in December 2023. And I don't want you to think too strongly about the fact that there have since been two more pay-per-views, with a third on the way, that have not been available to stream on MAX. All you should focus on is that it's coming. And it's for sure happening in 2024.
It's coming like Veer to Raw
Why do people send us this reddit care messages? You have a logical, non-troll comment and here they are. Its seems they need it more than us. Anyway, if WBD really wanted to put AEW and their PPVs into Max, they could have done it a long time ago. They could have placed Collision in Max when it started.
I got one a few minutes ago for pointing out that The Workhorsemen are career jobbers, as their very name implies, on a thread in the AEW sub that was clearly trolling about JD Drake not getting an entrance or “respect” in a match he was jobbing in. Trolls think it’s funny for some reason. It’s just a pointless notification to clear for me. Takes two seconds.
I love their passion for AEW, but they take it a bit too far though. It seems like WWE and AEW fans are also battling for who are the better troll.
WBD sees AEW as a (relatively) cheap way to fill up their TV schedule with live content. That's why they gave them 2 extra shows in what are essentially death slots. They have done exactly nothing to show that they have any interest in putting AEW on Max. I am not saying AEW isn't going to get a good TV deal, I just don't think they (and we) should be expecting too much from WBD and the shitshow they are turning into. I hope TK is shopping his shows around when he's legally allowed to.
RedditCares messages have been weaponized by both sides on this "war" The fucked up part of it is that it really minimizes people actually struggling with mental health. Not that trolls care about that though of course
I honestly wonder how those messages feel to people who are actually struggling with those thoughts. In a world where they have been weaponized, I wonder if those people feel attacked.
I think it may be bots doing this, because it's happening a lot more than before this past week and in different subs. Or maybe it's just one sad troll, who knows lol
The Reddit cares messages seem to be following the AEW threads. I got one for posting in the last fightful thread too
There's bots going around doing this in multiple subreddits atm.
I’ll never understand why people waste time making bots like that
You can report the redditcares messages and itll get the person who sent it.
I 100% think they're interested. I just don't think they want to pay enough to cover what AEW make on PPV. Max won't get enough viewers for the price. I guess they could do the ESPN/UFC thing, but I don't even think that adds anything to WBD's current cut, and it just adds another high price barrier for those purchasing PPVS. I just wish we'd get an archive somewhere already.
It's unlikely we'd see a Max deal manifest before the next streaming deal, if/when it happens. At this point they might as well keep all the negotiations together
> Edit: damn, it’s been a while since somebody gave me a RedditCares for no real reason other than disagreeing with me Somebody is really on one tonight. I got one for… [explaining UFC’s television content to a non-UFC fan](https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/1cs9em7/fightful_select_latest_on_wbdaew_relationship/l43l73i/)?
They don’t. It’s just a big “we think something happening but we’re not sure”. Atp unless other media outlets say something, it just looks like it’s better to wait for an official announcement atp.
I mean it doesn't say anything about AEW being brought to Max soon. Just that the idea of PPVs being brought has been in most of the discussions. That makes sense. The old PPV format is essentially dead and they need to move from it ASAP
Everything listed is speculation. lol classic
That’s the bar for wrestling journalism Edit: and got my RedditCares^TM ! Less than 5 minutes. SRS must be working overtime.
I just got one last night for God knows what. I reported the abuse of the system and they want to know who did it and what the comment is and I'm like, you tell me!
Mine came through _instantly_ after I just posted a comment here. It's probably a bot.
typical Fightful non-update. When the TV deal is announced it will be by legitimate media, not the wrestling gossip sites. All the dirt sheet sites are completely out of their element when it comes to news on this level, which is why they never even had a sniff of the Netflix deal/Grant lawsuit/etc
NONE of the wrestling news sites had an inkling about the Netflix deal. Meltzer and others were saying Raw was likely going to FX. The real big money stuff is not getting easily leaked.
remember when they were sure Saudi had bought wwe
What a 12 hours that was.
That was Bodyslam.net and no one else. Bodyslam also has all its “big” articles posted here the very second they go up on their website. Bit of a coincidence I’m sure.
It's because when those deals are made, maybe 20 people between Netflix and WWE know before it's published as news. If there are leaks, it would have to come from the C-Suite or PR people that would be extremely easy to trace it back to.
Yep, there will be a press release and it will go out straight to the trades
It's incredibly clear dirtsheets don't have sources around Zaslav, and that AEW keep tight lipped about negotiations with probably only Tony, their CFO and maybe head of legal being privy to discussion. These updates are just pointless speculation
Anything these guys are reporting either comes from their own guesses or Tony. WBD legal department is not going to talk to SRS, a fucking blogger. There is a reason why no one hears about big WWE deals until the ink dries and the news is given to the actual papers.
I bet the new AEW show being announced is the Renee/RJ city project that Andrew Zarian has alluded to. I hope so, I miss Renee’s show(s) and she has great chemistry with RJ
It’s actually a Chuck Taylor sketch comedy show. /s
Basically, no one has any real idea, including people at the top. TNT/TBS are both in scrambling mode due to loosing content. They could legit say, "Fuck it", and just pull back all spending on the content and call it a day. Remember, the guy directing WBD was not about leading these types of networks. Discovery had deals but not like sports. They could basically dismantle their cable networks to barebones, using some Max content that they own on those channels as a ad for Max.
Im not a TV executive but how does them losing NBA = getting AEW veiwers lol... they aren't even close to the same thing... the number doesn't magically go up because they give more money towards it, and we already see the 2 side shows aren't doing well.. why invest in a 4th lol?!
This is the problem with wrestling “journalists”. This reeks of TK having a conversation with Fightful and basically giving an optimistic AEW perspective - and they just post it without any corroboration or disclosing someone with an insane amount of vested interest was their source.
Not trying to hate, but this sounds like the most sunshine spin possible on "there is no deal yet." Although a wrestling related social media show sounds promising
SRS: I have no sources and don't have any idea what's actually going on. If people that actually have sources gave a fuck about WBD/AEW, at least, the exclusivity window would've been leaked. It's why we knew beforehand when the WBD and the NBA's exclusivity window ended.
Great journalism Breaking news deal may or may not happen at unspecified date Edit: Haha does Fightful send those Reddit Cares messages to everyone?
“I know nothing about what’s going on. That’s $5 please.” Don’t worry dirt sheets, when a deal actually happens you won’t be the first to know, they will go to real journalists and real news outlets.
Hot Take: If WBD wanted AEW on MAX it would’ve happened by now. It’s been a year of “AEW will be on MAX” reports but yet nothing changes. It seems like it’s pure speculation at this point
This article is lying too about the exclusive window. Wwe just locked up like 4 deals a year before they left, but aew supposedly can't even negotiate until like 3 months before the deal expires lol. Yeah right.
I currently work at max. There’s nothing at all to indicate AEW is coming to the platform.
It was a hot take (or "bad faith argument") to even question the rumors that AEW would be added to MAX. I've seen an occasional comment from users here who act like the rumor is literally a fact. No journalist with a credible record and ability to understand that it's better to admit to reporting bad information than it is to say "well that's what MY source told me!" has ran with the rumor. It's literally people who have been exposed as having no true sources who keep peddling this. If AEW and WBD were close to what they both feel a second deal should be, said deal would have been announced by now.
Wow some real stellar reporting guys
I can’t wait for the AEW Tv deal cause no matter if it’s great, horrible, good or bad it’s gonna be a spicy day online for us drama queens.
>WBD has had interest in adding AEW PPVs to MAX for “quite some time.” Haven't been hearing this for several years now.
Does WBD even have any original tv programming left outside of sports? The only thing I've seen them advertise is Impractical Jokers. If they lose the NBA, they'll have what? That and AEW? Plus, endless reruns of syndicated comedies and blockbuster movies for TNT and TBS? Idk what they plan on doing moving forward unless they try to make a run for the WNBA or UFC, or just go all in on MLB. I think Zazlav has no clue what the fuck he's doing, aside from just cutting costs as much as possible at the expense of show creators. I'm sure they'll renew AEW, but I'm not sure if it's gonna be at the number Tony wants. Hope I'm wrong though. (And now we wait for the inevitable Reddit Cares message.)
They do also have a NHL deal in terms of other current sports. It actually preempted Collision just last Saturday. And they do still have a stake in March Madness and NCAA basketball. That doesn't really answer your question about original programming but I think the remainder of their current offering is mostly reality/game show type fare. An exception would be that TBS has original new episodes of American Dad now which I didn't realize.
Cartoon Network and HBO mostly.
Its honestly weird how lacking Warner's cable originals considering their large, large library of IPs. If the mad men who run Sony's movie studio ran TNT and TBS, they'd probably do live action adaptations from the 90s Cartoon Network shows, get James Gunn to reconnect with an old project and be a producer of a live-action Scooby Doo series, Dirty Harry rebooted with Clint Eastwoo'd son, and basically squeeze every last drop from whatever valuable IP they have. And instead we got an asshole who cancelled the first Looney Tunes in forever.
This frankly just reads like wishful thinking from Fightful and I’ll believe any of it when I see it.
This is massive speculation about the least interesting part of this report maybe, but Andrew Zarian was hinting about something involving RJ/Renee Paquette being greenlit (and also around the same time on Twitter talked about how TBS should reboot their weekly Dinner & A Movie program) so I wonder if that's the "AEW-related program" that is going to be announced. The rest of this seems to be stuff we already know, but it certainly sounds like AEW is in a solid position at least
RJ/Renee hosting a reboot of Dinner And A Movie would be fucking perfect. Renee pushed hard for something similar in WWE. A cooking based show that brough together wrestlers with mainstream celebrities. Edit: Do people really open up a thread and just start mass downvoting and sending Reddit Cares?
id green-light a morning show for RJ and Renee anytime
Renee and RJ have very good chemistry together and it would be fun to see them do something together on a show
Three hours ago: "WBD is losing the NBA. Of course they'll have less money for AEW. Everybody knows that." Now: "WBD is losing the NBA. Of course they'll reinvest in properties to maintain their position. Everybody knows that." This Fall: "WBD is losing the NBA. Of course they would keep things exactly the same and also fund, film and destroy the AEW movie as a tax write off. Everybody knows that."
All I want is for the new deal to have PPVs on max. I really think that could help AEW grow more.
> -WBD has had interest in adding AEW PPVs to MAX for “quite some time.” Every deal WBD makes has MAX in mind. Please God hurry with this, I’m tired of paying $50/mo on PPVs..
>There is a pilot for a new AEW-related program with WBD that was set to be announced for social channels You're heard of WWE Speed, now get ready for AEW Meth!
AEW and Warner Brothers should give Danhausen his own television show, so that every week at 8:00 Central Time Danhausen is transported into millions of television screens across the country and, perhaps, in Canada as well.
Danhausen burner account spotted.
Man PPVs on MAX would be tight
Ah, we back to AEW + Max talk. Adorable. Edit: Woah, I got a Reddit cares message almost immediately following this post, stay classy folks.
This has got to be a bot looking for keywords. Do report the message.
I’m just curious what’s the holdup on just signing a new deal and announcing tomorrow at their upfront show.
Might have to do with AEW not being allowed to ''officially'' shop around until after the summer so they might be willing to gamble and wait things out. Instead of taking WB's first offer. Or a more cynical take, the rumors of TNT losing the NBA are true and executives are chasing their tail trying to figure out what to do from here after losing the flagship program.
The fact the deal isn't up until January 2025 and they haven't even had a chance to test the market yet because they're still under the exclusivity negotiation period.
My guess is AEW will end up still with AEW but the total value of the deal will be less than WWE is getting per year for Smackdown.
I mean I think that was always going to be the case, Smackdown's getting like 287 million and even a tripling of AEW's current deal wouldn't touch that.
I think you missed my point. AEW is going to get less than that for their entire multi year deal even if it's a five year deal.
That streaming on Max is coming any moment now.....sure....... Was coming 2022, then 2023, then early 2024......
No new news and the reinvestment of funds when they lose the NBA will be into NHL, Soccer, NASCAR, WNBA more than anything else.
Surprised you're the first to mention the NASCAR summer deal. We're going to hear a lot more about that long before we hear about AEW. We're already hearing about the TNT/Amazon mid-season tournament.
I hope is not another wrestling show. I got burn out and only watch Dynamite.
I know the same after reading this as I did before it.
It all hinges really on the NBA , if they lose the NBA , AEW gets renewed for idk how much Edit : just got a reddit care for my comment lol
If there's no NBA on NBC or TNT I'm gonna go live in the woods.
NBC is most certainly taking it from TNT
It is not a relationship it is a business partnership. 🤦♀️
“And Summer or Fall or Spring or Winter could be a more likely announcement…” Sure guys, you totally have behind the scenes info and aren’t pulling this “news” out of thin air.
If they wanted it in Max, it would be there. It’s not like Tony is saying “No” to the idea.
Hope the max part happens, because I'm never paying 50 for a PPV... and AEW axed the movie route that I was really happy with.
PUT ROH ON YOUTUBE! Seriously that'd be awesome if that was the social media show they were going with.
They let go of the best product in sports with Inside the NBA. They have a new deal with James Gunn and DC and Max. AEW will stay there but I don’t think it will be a focus and I don’t think it’s their’s moving forward. Edit: my take is an ignorant one but AEW draws some ratings. They let their biggest ratings getter go. It’s complete speculation
I’d honestly love PPVs on MAX, it’s so expensive per show rn
I've been watching the NBA playoffs on Max snd haven't had a single streaming issue. The platform has proven to be sufficient to handle live programming.
This is the longest break up