Tony Khan’s deal with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has become the topic of endless speculation and debate within the AEW universe. Fans and industry insiders alike have been holding their breath, waiting for the long-anticipated renewal of AEW’s TV rights with their long-standing media partner. The stakes are sky-high, and the clock is ticking, as negotiations are reportedly in full swing this year. Reliable sources suggest that talks had once reached a frustrating standstill, leaving everyone on edge. But now, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. A brand-new deal is rumored to be in hand, following a pivotal meeting between Khan and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav in Paris. But before we dive into the potential highs and lows of this deal, there’s a significant grey area we need to address—AEW’s concerning ratings slump.

Why Tony Khan is in deep w.ater in his impending WBD TV deal scenario? 

Khan has been building up a lot of big ideas for AEW as 2024 unfolds and 2025 looms on the horizon. To bring these ambitious plans to life, a robust media rights deal is crucial. More screen time, new creative ventures, and the overall elevation of AEW’s presence all hinge on securing a solid contract. However, recent ratings have been anything but encouraging. With shows like *Collision* hitting an all-time low of 189,000 viewers and even Olympic programming siphoning away audience attention, the timing couldn’t be worse. These rating dips cast a shadow over what should have been a moment of triumph, leaving Tony Khan with a tough challenge as he navigates the delicate balance of securing a lucrative deal while addressing the undeniable challenges that AEW currently faces.

Explaining the ill effect of the deal, Eric Bischoff noted in the latest edition of his podcast, ”People, Warner Brothers Discovery woke up a week ago and found out they had 9.1 billion less than they thought they had. Nobody’s handing out buckets of money anywhere. AEW is not that valuable of programming. The return on the investment based on the low ratings and the fact that it’s professional wrestling means that it is not advertising-friendly. It’s not an advertising cornucopia.”

However, the WWE Hall of Famer also stressed the fact that, despite everything, WBD stuck around. ”AEW is still very attractive programming in terms of cost of acquisition. There you go. But in terms of return on investment, it’s marginal,’‘ he added.

Moving ahead, despite the lackluster return from the deal, Khan continues teasing the one historical announcement on All In Night.

Tony Khan hypes up a historical announcement at All-In 2024

AEW is embracing another blockbuster AEW All In at Wembley, London. With all the stars and the marquee matches on the special PLE card, the night is shaping up to be phenomenal. But the only attractive thing about the upcoming PLE isn’t the matches, rather Khan has something more to blast at the pick hours of the show.

The AEW head honcho has been teasing big news related to All In for quite a long. He took to his Twitter to thank all the fans and followers and asked them to buckle up as we all are rapidly heading toward historical announcements. Previously, fans assumed it to be the TV deal only, but taking a deeper look at the situation, it could also be a stadium fix for the next year’s PLEs or something else.

What’s your take on Tony Khan’S potential loss at the imminent TV deal due to the low ratings? Let us know in the comments.