According to Fightful Select, AEW and Warner Bros Discovery are said to be very close, but the new media right deal has yet to be completed.
The report also notes that talks between AEW and WBD are simply “ongoing and amicable”, as they are working on the best deal possible that benefits both sides.
FOX’s five-year run with WWE SmackDown officially ended last Friday, as the show moves back to the USA Network, beginning this Friday. It has been previously reported that FOX has shown interest in bringing wrestling content to its Tubi streaming service. There has already been some speculation that the recent fling by AEW to trademark “Shockwave” could be for this very reason.
Furthermore, Fightful Select notes that FOX had no difficulty in selling ads for SmackDown, although it was said that the cost of airing the show did cut into the profits for the network.
This report from Fightful Select comes days just after Tony Khan said after last Friday’s Rampage went off the air that it is “safe to say” AEW will be staying on TBS and TNT. He then said during the All Out Media Scrum on Saturday, he was in the “redzone” regarding the new media rights deal.