During the recent media call to promote AEW All In: London 2024, AEW President Tony Khan clarified why AEW Dynamite on Wednesday was aired with a tape delay and mentioned that, from a legal standpoint, airing the show live would not be permissible.
The decision was made because Warner Bros. Discovery holds the right to the initial broadcast of the show.
Khan said, “It’s not legal for me to put the show on live in the UK before I put it on for the people that pay 97% of the TV rights fees in Warner Brothers Discovery. They have earned the first right of airing the show and they have the legal first right to air the show. I can’t put Dynamite on anywhere before it airs on TBS and TNT, nor should I. TBS and TNT have been a great home to us. FITE has had at times issues in the stream of the show. I would love to do the show at some point, if possible, on ITV and put the show, ideally, on at the same time it’s on TBS and TNT. I just can’t jumpstart our primary media partner. In pro wrestling, those TV rights are a huge component of the business and really drives a lot of the revenue, along with huge tentpole events like AEW All In. Ideally, what I would like to do, is simulcast it, but that would still be very late here. It’s a 1 AM start, that’s not ideal.”
AEW’s current media rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery runs through the end of 2024. Both parties are yet to sign a new deal.
