The rumors about AEW’s new television deal with Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD) came out, and almost every AEW weekly reviewer in the wrestling industry was touched upon by this discussion. It is puzzling to many since there have been no official statements or media briefings regarding the negotiations. Although no signature agreements have ever been announced, both sides have been rather coy about the status of the discussions. Eric Bischoff, a WWE Hall of Fame member, finds the situation especially amusing because a slither of information can still come out.
In his podcast, ‘83 Weeks,’ Bischoff admitted that he was quite astounded at the extent to which information regarding the negotiations managed to leak out when the discussions were meant to be so confidential.
"Usually, when you are in some negotiation period, no network expects you to speak about that negotiation,” remarked Bischoff. “Information leaks too much. That’s shocking. Because when you consider it, if you're Warner Brothers Discovery, you are still settling with other independent producers and other studios for content. You don’t want people you are combating for other content to know how much you are spending on other people, but no, it is really strange that this information is being given out.”
AEW Financial Strain
It was particularly noted and reported by Puck and other places that the new deal will be lucrative for AEW. Bischoff is still not confident regarding the promotion’s gain in complicated future terms. He estimated the payroll of AEW’s talents at 100 to 110 million dollars, mentioning that it still doesn't account for production, travel, and staff salaries, which are even more of a burden. Bischoff pointed out that there are still big overheads from AEW, and the fan base, which looks like cooling off, does not help.
“It won’t improve the quality of their shows in any way,” Bischoff confessed. “You can see that 'Collision,' ‘Rampage,’ and ‘Dynamite’ are all shedding 30-38% of their audiences yearly. If it continues this way, statistically, at the end of their three-year deal, there will be about 11 viewers left,” he remarked sarcastically.