How AEW has retained its cable audience during Max partnership

Yahoo

11 hours ago

Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi sits down with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) founder and CEO Tony Khan to discuss the company's Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) partnership, competition within the pro wrestling space, consumer sentiment, and more.
Click here to watch more of Yahoo Finance's coverage from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Yahoo! Finance continuing its coverage here at the Cannes Lions, uh, festival. And you never know who you're gonna run into on the ground here. Joining me now is AEW, uh, CEO Tony Khan. I should say all elite wrestling.
Yes, AEW, all elite wrestling, yes. So, uh, I've been following, uh,
you for a while, I've been following the growth of this brand.
For those not familiar, you know, how big has AEW gotten since you launched a couple years ago?
Well, we have, uh, a huge audience. We've got, uh, a great partnership with Warner Brothers Discovery. We have Wednesday night Dynamite on TBS every Wednesday night. Uh, we've got Saturday night Collision on TNT every Saturday night. And this is the first year of the simulcast. So now the show every Wednesday night it simulcast TBS and Max, every Saturday night TNT and Max. So the company keeps growing, expanding. Uh, we have a huge audience. AEW's on in over 150 countries worldwide. Millions of people watch the show every week, uh, all over the planet. So AEW's grown so much, uh, and the lifeblood of the company is our great wrestlers, our great fans, and that partnership with Warner Brothers Discovery.
I, I'm trying hard not to have like a wrestling trivia contest with you right now in real time. I'm not gonna do it. I'm not gonna do it. But, you know, what made you, before we look forward, what made you start this? Because when you started AEW, I mean, there was WWE, uh, WCW folded, and no other company was competing, but something must have been going on in your head, say, I need to take on a company like this.
Well, it was a great opportunity. Uh, we launched AEW in 2019. Uh, in 2018, I was looking at the pro wrestling landscape and I realized there was a real opportunity to launch a challenger brand in this business. Uh, that's what's happened with AEW. We've grown the company so much. We started in 2019 and we're coming up just weeks from now. July 2nd, we're going to celebrate 300 episodes of Wednesday night Dynamite. Uh, recently, we had this huge milestone episode 289 that doesn't sound like a round number, but the reason 289 is a big milestone is it's, it signified AEW becoming the longest running primetime pro wrestling show ever on TBS and TNT. Wednesday night Dynamite, we've done 300 episodes now. Uh, 288 was the previous record. Uh, so we've set the record, uh, there. TBS and TNT, they have such a great history of showing wrestling, so to be the company that's put on the longest running primetime weekly pro wrestling show ever on Turner Sports, that's pretty sweet. And, uh, you know, we're having a really, really great year. It feels like 2025 is, in a lot of ways, the best year we've had. I mean, we're having a great
How, how big is the biz? How much, how many sales do you bring in? I mean, is it making money? Like what are your
Yes, we're doing fantastic. This was a huge year for us. We grew the business so much with the simulcast. We've brought in new audience with Max and, and streaming, but also, uh, we've been able to grow our cable audience year over year. Frankly, that cable and satellite
Grow the cable, who's doing that?
Well, uh, you know, honestly, us. Because a lot of people thought when you start simulcasting AEW on Wednesday nights and Saturday nights, oh, okay, well, a lot of people, they're still going to watch the show, but people are going to migrate to streaming. Well, actually, our cable audience when we started simulcasting went up. And we have a great audience on Max streaming every week too. So, uh, we have been able to do that, and we've really maintained and grown a great audience over the years. Uh, AEW, uh, we say it's where the best wrestle, and I really believe that's true. I think we have the best roster of wrestlers in the world.
Key point, because I think you and I would both agree that talent is what makes wrestling. And I look back over the years in the '80s, it was, uh, really gigantic people yelling into a screen, cutting what 30-second snippets. But what makes a great talent nowadays, uh, in wrestling?
Well, it's a great question. I think it's a total package, uh, different than the total package.
Lex Luger. Oh, you didn't think of Come on. You weren't gonna get that one past me.
I knew you were going to say that. No, it's okay. I love Lex, and I think that, uh, exactly. You got to have somebody that has all the skills right now that, that total package. You want to have somebody that has the ability to talk and connect with the audience, somebody that has charisma, and somebody that's a great athlete. The fans want great pro wrestling matches in 2025, and they're, they, they deserve great matches. And that's what AEW gives the fans every Wednesday night on TBS, every Saturday night on TNT. We've got a roster of wrestlers, uh, from Hangman Page, Jon Moxley, Will Osprey, MJF, Mercedes Monet, Timeless Tony Storm, so many great wrestlers that can connect with the audience. They have charisma, but also they're great in the ring.
A lot of CEOs that I've talked to here at Cannes so far, getting mixed reads on the economy. What do you see through your ticket sales, your, your sales at the, at the, uh, you know, the, the stands where I go get like a t-shirt and a hoodie?
We're having a great year. So for AEW, it's been really strong. I think, uh, you have to work really hard to earn the fans' trust, or earn the fans' spending these days. You have to really put on, uh, compelling product, you know, at the movie theaters, the movies that draw are the, the big tentpole movies. You know, it's changed a lot just to look at the movie business, for example. I was looking at, uh, the movies that came out around 20 years ago around the holidays. I saw like 14 movies a month back in the '90s. You know, now people don't see 12, 14 movies a month around, you know, the winter and the summer. Uh, so it's changed a lot. You really have to earn the consumer confidence, and, uh, there are less and less players in space. And that's why with media consolidation, it's really, really important whether you're sports, entertainment, or pro wrestling, which is really great elements of both, but first and foremost, wrestling is a sport, and it has a great audience, and like great sports fans, wrestling fans come back because they want to see the best athletes, they want to see the best competition. And wrestling's a little different because there's great stories that drive pro sports, uh, family stories, uh, competition stories, and those same elements exist in pro wrestling, but we're able to really drive them, hit them home, take the best elements of movies and TV, and build them in. And that's what's great about wrestling. But, you know, I think you're asking about the economy for AEW, 2025 has been a great year for us, but I'm not going to lie, like when we started in, uh, AEW in 2019, there were a lot of shows, there were a lot of channels, and frankly, media's consolidated and changed. I'm really proud that after six years, AEW is still a huge part of the conversation and growing.
Well, Warner Brothers is, like you mentioned, Warner Brothers is splitting up. What does that mean for your, your deal, your rights deal with them?
That's a great question. Uh, you know, I know that AEW, for both sides of where Warner Brothers is going, we have great relationships with everybody at the top, uh, both on Global Networks and Streaming and Studios. Mr. Zaslav himself put our deal together. Uh, Gunnar, who will be running Global Networks, also was very involved in our deal. Is the CFO, the two of them and Bruce Campbell really negotiated this deal with AEW and myself and my team. So, on both sides, uh, we've got the great relationships and both sides that really love AEW and have come to be great partners with AEW. So, for us, it's been a big year, 2025, and now we're kind of on both sides of that equation. Uh, we are a big part of TBS and TNT, the crown jewels of the Global Network side, and then we're also a huge now part of Streaming and Studios with AEW streaming every week. So it's exciting.
Two last ones for you. Let's say rapid-fire questions. First up, um, I need you to give wrestling fans what they want to know. There's been some chatter in the wrestling circles that WWE may be up for sale. TKO may want to take it out of portfolio. Any interest?
I have not heard that. That's the first I've heard of that. I'm not sure about that.
Next up, would you ever, we've seen a host of promoters become part of the storyline in wrestling. I watch AEW. I've not watched every episode, full disclosure. Are you the type of promoter that is going to take a chair to the head? Do you want to take a honky-tonk, uh, type of guitar to your head here?
I really don't want to get into the ring, and I'd like to think of myself as the commissioner is more of a device. You know, when you watch NFL football, we have a great commissioner, he's done so many great things for the league, and, uh, the way the NFL features Roger, I think is fantastic. It's great to have the commissioner involved in the game. He makes the rulings from on high, but when you watch an NFL football game, it's not 47 minutes of Roger. And you don't need to see 47 minutes of me on Dynamite, nor do you ever really see me on the show, uh, as the matchmaker and the promoter. Uh, I'm a device on the show. Uh, and, uh, one time I was attacked, and I am very lucky to be sitting here with you right now, Brian. One year ago, I survived the deadliest move in pro wrestling, the Spike Piledriver.
Ooh.
The Spike Piledriver.
They're still doing that?
Yeah, it's banned in several states. It's illegal in the state of Tennessee. It's illegal in Mexico. And, uh, we'll be heading to Mexico this week. The first ever AEW show in Mexico is tomorrow. I'll be flying from here to Mexico City. I'm doing this with you and jumping on the plane and really, uh, you know, going from wire to wire. This is beautiful here, and Mexico City's going to be great. Uh, and, you know, I don't want to necessarily get into the ring. My one time, uh, I got tricked and attacked in the ring, uh, is enough to keep me out for life.