AEW’s Tony Khan isn’t worried about a Warner Bros. Discovery divorce.
Earlier this month, it was announced that Warner Bros. Discovery, a media goliath that distributes movies, TV, sports, and news, would be split.
One of the companies to emerge from the split will be solely focused on streaming and studios: This means HBO, Max, DC Studios, and Warner Bros. TV and film programming. Another company will focus on “Global Networks,” with channels like CNN, TNT Sports, Discovery, and Bleacher Report among the group.
The plan will divide up a company that AEW has been closely tied to for years through media rights agreements. The promotion currently has a deal to stream weekly live programming on TNT and TBS, with simulcasts of events offered on the HBO Max streaming service as well.
The upcoming change doesn’t concern Khan, who says the company has a strong relationship with key figures on both sides of the split.
“I know that AEW, from both sides of where Warner Bros. is going, we have great relationships with everybody at the top, both on global networks and streaming and studios,” Khan told Yahoo! Finance at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity this week. “Mr. [David] Zaslav himself put our deal together. Gunnar [Wiedenfels], who will be running global networks, also was very involved in our deal. The two of them and Bruce Campbell really negotiated this deal with AEW and myself and the team. So, on both sides, we’ve got the great relationships.”
Zaslav is set to become the CEO of Global Networks, and as Khan mentioned, Wiedenfels will be fronting the Streaming & Studios company.
AEW has worked with Warner Bros. Discovery since 2019, when they launched Dynamite. Both parties reached a new agreement last fall, keeping AEW programming on TV for years to come.
