WWE Raw could still possibly land on TBS or TNT, per new reports.
According to PWInsider, this past Monday morning TKO’s Marc Shapiro, WWE CEO Nick Khan and Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque were in New York at the Warner Bros. Discovery headquarters meeting with WBD Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer Bruce Campbell about potentially moving Raw to TBS or TNT.
AEW’s current agreement with WBD is still believed to be up at the end of the 2024 TV season. This past Tuesday, during the ROH Final Battle Media Call, Tony Khan noted he met with WBD that same day (December 12).
PWInsider further notes now with Friday Night SmackDown moving to the USA Network and NXT moving to the CW Network – both in 2024, WWE is said to be seeking a major increase in the media rights for Raw.
Other potential partners are FX, Amazon among others.
The report concludes by noting that WBD’s major goal of late has been to lock in the rights to the NBA. However, David Zaslav, who is the CEO for WBD has publicly stated the company “doesn’t need” the NBA.
Per F4WOnline, the return of CM Punk was a major part of the pitch to WBD, with the idea that he wil be a regular on the Raw brand.
F4WOnline also notes the situation is wide open and greatly affects AEW, which has also been in talks with WBD on a number of deals besides just television rights renewals, including potential streaming. Furthermore, WBD also gets a cut of AEW’s pay-per-view buys through Bleacher Report.
It was further noted that while it never has been acknowledged, there is also the belief that WBD owns points in AEW. Tony Khan has never denied it when asked. He has only said that he has 100 percent of the voting and decision making power.
F4WOnline also included the following in their report:
-WWE is looking for a huge increase in Raw rights on the new deal. The hoped for figure is said to be $398 million.
-AEW Dynamite was believed to have been roughly $50 million in rights fees for 2023, and the option year would bump it up.
-With Raw at three hours, the price per hour would be in the $124 million to $133 million range, and the Dynamite price for this coming year could be in the $30 million range per hour.
-Even with a possible increase to $90 million ($45 million per hour) for the next deal, it would mean delivering 55 percent of the 18-49 viewers at 25 to 36 percent of the cost.