And the plot thickens…
There has been a lot of talk in the world of wrestling regarding the future home of WWE’s Monday Night RAW as well as AEW’s TV programming. It was reported that Warner Brothers Discovery, the current home of AEW Dynamite, Rampage, and Collision, was in talks with TKO for rights to RAW. Currently, neither party, has confirmed or denied the report.
AEW’s deal with WBD is said to end on December 31st, 2024 according to Dave Meltzer on a recent Wrestling Observer Radio. Previously, it was reported that AEW’s deal was set to expire at the end of 2023, but it looks as though WBD activated the one year option one-year option they had within their existing media rights deal.
But, there’s a twist. In a new report today via Axios, Warner Brothers Discovery CEO David Zaslav, and Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish had a meeting on Tuesday in New York City to discuss a potential merger of the two companies. The report noted that Zaslav also spoke with Shari Redstone, owner of Paramount’s parent company about a possible deal. Additionally, as of Wednesday WBD’s market value was around $29 billion, compared to the $10 million that Paramount is valued at. This would mean that “it would not be two equally sized entities merging but would further consolidate the television industry.”
Tuesday’s meeting between Zaslav and Bakish was said to have taken place at Paramount’s Headquarters in Time Square, and lasted for hours. The two were said to have discussed whats that WBD and Paramount could compliment one another, noting for example that each company’s streaming services MAX and Paramount+ could merge to better rival Netflix and Disney+.
It was also stated that it is unclear as to whether or not WBD would buy Paramount Global or National Amusements Inc., it’s parent company. However, a source familiar with the situation stated “that both options are on the table.”
It is important to note that, “WBD is said to have hired bankers to explore the deal.”
We will keep you updated if we hear anything else that pertains to Warner Brothers Discovery’s potential deals with AEW, and WWE, or a possible merger with Paramount+ and what that might mean for everyone involved.
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