Tony Khan’s Lavish TV Deal Demands Revealed After ‘Disappointing’ Offer From WBD

There has been a lot of confusion regarding the current media rights deal between AEW and Warner Bros Discovery since the news of its impending termination next year surfaced. While the negotiations are still on the work, as per some reports, Tony Khan will get legal access to explore other options as well. It might even be an inevitable reality, given the AEW head honcho doesn’t seem pleased with the clauses the proposed WBD deal has in store for the promotion.

Let’s just pick on the wide gap between Khan’s expectations and the reality of the mediocre TV rights deal offer he received.

Tony Khan’s “package deal” of demands from the WBD TV deal exposed

Tony Khan is still vocally supportive of the AEW-WBD partnership, as he praises the history between the two companies. Moreover, he shared his elation about Zaslav watching the AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view. But behind the scenes, there seemed to be another story brewing. Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive from Wrestling Observer Radio discussed the sweet spot that the AEW president hoped to reach regarding the future TV rights deal. Moreover, the wrestling personalities talked about Khan’s mentality regarding the state of the negotiations.

”Tony would like an obviously lucrative deal but my understanding is that he wants a package deal that includes many things, he doesn’t just want a renewal for the television and he would like some sort of pay-per-view aspect to this whether that means moving to max whatever the deal with max would be. And then he wants something involving the TV library,” Alvarez noted.

He added that Khan unrealistically wanted everything in a single deal and the reality of the situation had not pleased the AEW chief. However, the Florida-based promotion outright denied the claim of Khan being disappointed with the WBD offerings.

AEW dismissed the theory of Khan getting frustrated after the latest round of negotiations

Khan has been experiencing a huge ratings slump lately but that didn’t prevent him from moving ahead with an optimistic outlook for the upcoming season of his business. And when it comes to business, it’s largely depended on choosing the right TV deal. As the current AEW contract with Warner Bros Discovery stands in its last stretch after a year of extension, the negotiation window between the two parties continues to be in the limelight.

A recent report from PWMania unveiled a positive aspect of the relationship where WBD CEO and President David Zaslav and TNT Sports boss, Luis Silberwasser seem interested in keeping the AEW slot intact on TNT and TBS, containing shows like Dynamite, Rampage, and Collision. But it wasn’t enough for Khan to give his nod of approval to the deal, as he was rather ‘disappointed’ with the manifesto.

In response to that, AEW sources deemed it as false. They noted that the first offer wasn’t disappointing at all. Rather, they are meeting in the middle ground where both AEW and WBD are trying to come to a consensus.

Only time will reveal how Tont Khan’s WBD ordeal will shape up in the future. What’s your take on Tony Khan being unhappy about the proposed WBD deal? Let us know in the comments.