All Elite Wrestling enters 2024 with ratings and business momentum as it gears up for talks on a new TV carriage agreement.

AEW, which launched in 2019, drew 15.6 million viewers in 2023 across its three weekly television shows on Warner Bros Discovery’s TBS and TNT — AEW Dynamite, which airs Wednesdays on TBS, and Rampage and Collision, airing Fridays and Saturdays, respectively, on TNT. 

With strong 2023 returns on its pay-per-view events as well as record-breaking international live gate performances, the company — led by its CEO, general manager and head of creative Tony Khan — is in position to successfully compete in a crowded pro wrestling ring led by category leader WWE.

Khan, who outside the ring serves as chief football strategy officer of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars and as general manager and sporting director of soccer’s Fulham F.C. of the English Premier League, recently spoke to Multichannel News about AEW’s plans going into the new year.   

MCN: Has the AEW brand met your expectations since its launch in 2019? 

Tony Khan: It’s been an incredible first four-plus years for AEW. As we approach year five, we’ve accomplished so much in the world of pro wrestling and there’s still so much we can still do. We’ve expanded from two hours of weekly television to five hours; from one weekly program on Wednesdays to three weekly programs on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. We’ve gone from being on TNT to being on both TBS and TNT every week, 52 weeks a year. We’ve expanded internationally toward Canada and did one of the biggest live gates in the history of Canada with [pay-per-view event] Forbidden Door. One of the biggest accomplishments ever in wrestling was our AEW All In event held at Wembley Stadium last summer where we sold more than 81,000 tickets. It’s the most tickets ever sold for any wrestling show in history on record and it was also a huge success on pay-per-view. So there is a lot of really awesome stuff happening and for us, it’s an exciting time. We’re approaching our media rights renewal window and that’s a massive opportunity for us for all the growth we’ve had since our launch. 

MCN: As you approach media rights negotiations, is AEW considering expanding into the streaming arena somewhere down the line?

TK: We have a great library of content as we explore future distribution opportunities. Along with AEW content, I acquired Ring of Honor, which features thousands of hours of footage and trademarks. Given our library, we have an amazing opportunity to launch on a streaming platform.

MCN: What has made the AEW brand so popular for both audiences and potential distributors? 

TK: We have a lot of the best wrestlers in the world in AEW, and we have a great, knowledgeable fan base that is very passionate about wrestling. There has been a great base for AEW on Wednesday night since our launch and we’ve been able to expand it into Fridays and Saturdays. Our pay-per-view business has grown over the years significantly, and the loyalty of our pay-per-view customers and the strength of that business is, in my opinion, a testament to the great connection we have with the AEW wrestling fans who are so engaged with our brand each week. 

MCN: When you initially launched, the clear leader in the pro wrestling ring was the WWE. Four years later, how does the AEW brand match up with WWE? 

TK: I think it’s a great time for wrestling because over the last several years, both companies have grown. AEW is a challenger brand [to the WWE], and it’s an exciting time for wrestling. When we got into the industry, I believe it was unquestionably a monopoly. I’m working very hard to grow and sustain AEW as a challenger brand, and it’s been a lot of fun putting on great wrestling every week. I think the arrival and debut of AEW has helped create a market around wrestling that has helped both of the major domestic wrestling promotions. For us at AEW, we’re really happy that we've been able to grow our business and expand our pay-per-view calendar and have such great results.

MCN:  Along with wrestling, you also have business interests in the NFL and soccer. Do you have a preference for a particular sport?

TK: I love all the stuff I’m doing, but they’re different. They have great qualities and strength. I love working in wrestling; but I also love being a part of the Premier League with Fulham F.C. and the work we’ve done to get the team to where it is today. I love being a part of the NFL with the Jaguars and the great fans in Jacksonville and the turnaround the team has had over the last couple of years and being a part of it. It’s all so fun for me and they’re all very different. 

TBS averaged 1 million viewers for its inaugural AEW: Dynamite telecast Wednesday night, according to Nielsen.

Last night’s telecast of the pro wrestling series, which moved to TBS from TNT, posted an audience increase of 4% in total viewers compared to the last episode of the series on TNT airing December 29, said network officials. TBS’ AEW: Dynamite telecast also drew 558,000 adults 18-49, making it the second most-watched show on cable in the demo for the evening and the show’s best performance in the demo since September 29, 2021.

AEW: Dynamite, which debuted on TNT in 2019, moved to TBS to make room for additional TNT National Hockey League telecasts. The network began airing NHL games in October as part of a new seven-year rights deal with the league. 

Also: TBS Looks To Pin Down Wrestling Viewers with ‘AEW: Dynamite’

TNT still offers AEW’s weekly Friday series AEW: Rampage, and will air quarterly specials throughout the year beginning January 8 with Battle of the Belts. ■  

TBS officially steps into the pro wrestling arena tonight (January 5) as it takes over distribution of TNT‘s weekly AEW: Dynamite series.

The series, which debuted on TNT in 2019, is moving to TBS to make room for additional TNT National Hockey League telecasts. The network began airing NHL games in October as part of a new seven-year rights deal with the league. 

AEW: Dynamite reached more than 37 million viewers in 2021, and averaged 975,000 total viewers in its final airing on TNT on December 29, Nielsen reported. 

While TBS has aired Major League Baseball games and other live sports events in the past, it has been many years since it prominently featured pro wrestling as part of its schedule. TNT, TBS and truTV associate general manager and SVP of programming and operations Sam Linsky says he‘s confident wrestling fans will follow AEW: Dynamite to TBS. He added TBS is not looking to make any editorial changes to the two-hour AEW: Dynamite telecasts.

“Wrestling fans are about as passionate and smart as you get … I think they’ll find it [on TBS],” Linsky said. 

AEW may also attract new viewers who watch TBS’s more comedy-themed content. Linsky said the lead-in for AEW: Dynamite on TBS is The Big Bang Theory, which attracts a different audience demographic than the viewers who watched the action movies that served as the show’s lead-in on TNT. 

“The way you expand a wrestling brand or any sort of sports or brand is by going outside of the normal fans,” Linksy said. “If let's say half of [Big Bang Theory] viewers stay and watch AEW: Dynamite and fall in love with the great characters, the great action and the great fun of the show, you're expanding the audience while still delivering the product to the hardcore fans.” 

The AEW wrestling franchise will still have a presence on TNT through its weekly Friday series AEW: Rampage. Linsky added TNT will air quarterly specials throughout the year beginning January 8 with Battle of the Belts. AEW will also offer several pay-per-view events in 2022.

“The more you can expose different audiences to this product, the more opportunity you have for people to come in and find it,” Linsky said. “I’m glad to have it in as many places as possible.” ■ 

TNT's AEW: Dynamite series will officially move to TBS on Jan. 5, the company said Thursday.

The weekly pro wrestling series, which debuted on TNT in October 2019, will officially move to TBS as TNT continues to increase its sports portfolio with the launch of National Hockey League games in October, part of a new seven-year rights deal with the league. 

AEW: Dynamite has  generated strong ratings for the network, and has most recently finished as the top rated cable program on Wednesdays among adult 18-49 viewers for four weeks straight, according to the network

TNT will continue to air AEW's latest wrestling series, AEW: Rampage, on Friday nights, according to the network.  Also, TNT on Sept. 29 will launch a new AEW-themed reality series, Rhodes to the Top, featuring a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of AEW executives Cody and Brandi Rhodes.  

TNT in September will launch a new unscripted series that follows All Elite Wrestling power couple Cody and Brandi Rhodes.

The series, Rhodes to the Top, debuts Sept. 29 and goes inside the lives of the married couple as they navigate their growing family while helping to build AEW’s global wrestling empire, according to TNT. The series will debut with a one-hour show, followed by weekly, 30-minute episodes.

Read Also: TNT's 'AEW: Dynamite' Wrestling Series Moving to TBS in 2022

The Warner Bros. Unscripted Television-produced series is executive produced by Sam Berns and Paul Storck.

In a nod to Turner Sports’ growing live pro sports rights portfolio, TNT will move its Wednesday night AEW: Dynamite pro wrestling series to TBS beginning in January.

The series, which launched on TNT in 2019, will move to TBS in 2022 as TNT prepares to schedule NHL games as part of Turner Sports’ new seven-year NHL carriage deal announced last month,  Brett Weitz, TNT, TBS and truTV general manager said in a Wednesday morning press call. Turner Sports also has a multi-year agreements with the NBA and Major League Baseball.

Read Also: Turner sports Secures NHL TV Rights Deal 

“The NHL had something to do with the move; the NBA had something to do with it,” he said. “When we looked to see where we believe the consumer is going to be and where wrestling fans are going to be, we wanted to give them the most opportunity to consume as many shows as possible. We thought TBS had an opportunity to be the network with the best platform for expansion.” 

In the interim, TNT beginning Aug. 13 will launch a new weekly wrestling series, AEW: Rampage. In addition the network will launch four AEW-themed wrestling specials annually. AEW: Dynamite has performed well for TNT in its Wednesday timeslot -- on May 5 the show for the first time was the most watched series on cable that night among adults 18-49. 

Read Also: Brandi & Cody Rhodes Step Into Cable's Wrestling Ring with All-Elite Wrestling on TNT 

Weitz ruled out the potential of converting one of the three networks to an all sports channel in the future despite an increase in sports rights acquisitions. “I don’t think it makes sense to rebrand at this point,” he said. “We have to keep these networks vibrant with a lot of original and acquired content.”  

Weitz also made the argument for the value of traditional linear television in the wake of increased audience usage of digital content. “When you think of the tonnage of audiences that flow through these networks, that’s big platform to deliver to a consumer,” he said. “I know  that SVOD is the future and that’s the growth engine, but these businesses right now have so much in them to continue to deliver to a consumer in the right way.” 

USA Network’s weekly WWE NXT wrestling series will move to Tuesday nights from Wednesdays beginning April 13 as part of a multi-year extension, eliminating head-to-head competition with TNT’s rival wrestling outfit All-Elite Wrestling.

The move will give USA Network  two consecutive nights of primetime WWE wrestling series, with NXT following WWE Monday Night Raw. NXT launched in September 2019 and averaged 847,000 total viewers in its Wednesday night timeslot according to USA, but faced stiff competition from TNT's upstart AEW: Dynamite series. 

All new WWE NXT episodes will be available on demand on Peacock, the day after its airing on USA Network.

Read also: WWE Network Content Available on Peacock on March 18

“We are incredibly proud of our three-decade partnership with WWE and in extending USA’s NXT deal, we are further establishing our portfolio as an unrivaled home for quality WWE content,” said NBCUniversal Chairman, Entertainment Networks Frances Berwick in a statement. “By transitioning NXT to a Tuesday timeslot where WWE has performed well in the past, we are giving our passionate fanbase more of what they love with back-to-back nights of exhilarating, live programming.”

Added WWE executive vice president of Global Talent Strategy & Development Paul Levesque: “We are thrilled to continue WWE and NBCUniversal’s longstanding partnership with the extension of NXT on USA Network. The move to Tuesdays provides a new opportunity for us to grow the NXT brand and enables our partner, USA Network, to continue to build its strong portfolio of sports and entertainment programming.”

In a Battle Royale reminiscent of the 1990s pro-wrestling wars, USA Network and WWE are facing a legitimate challenge to their decades-long reign as pro wrestling’s heavyweight champions. TNT last Wednesday (Oct. 2) officially stepped back into the squared ring with All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite, a weekly TV series from upstart All Elite Wrestling. And USA and WWE hit right back, going head-to-head against Dynamite with a series of their own, WWE NXT.

While TNT’s AEW franchise and USA’s WWE NXT series going head to head for viewers on Wednesday nights, industry observers say the pro-wrestling genre is a content champion for networks looking to pin down younger cord-cutters and cable-nevers with action-packed, live sports entertainment programming.

“The way to combat the increase in streaming is to offer live event programming, and if that programming is sports content targeted to young men, then you’ve hit the trifecta,” media consultant Bill Carroll said. “Pro wrestling provides that across 52 weeks a year of live primetime programming that, in essence, regenerates itself.”

Appointment TV

USA, TNT, Fox and independent AXS TV (the new home to Impact Wrestling) are betting that loyal, young male viewers will tune into pro-wrestling programming to root for their favorite, athletically-inclined heroes and masked villains as they jump off of ring ropes, slam into tables and get thrown into corner ring posts. Wrestling’s value to TV networks in this hyper-competitive video era was underscored by WWE’s lucrative new deals with USA parent Comcast NBCUniversal and with Fox last year, and by AT&T-owned WarnerMedia’s investment in AEW.

“Wrestling has survived the war of attrition with regard to programming formats [while] primetime dramas and sitcoms have suffered major audience drop-offs in recent years,” sports analyst Lee Berke said. “The only genre that has maintained some sort of viewership appeal has been wrestling. It is name-brand sports-themed content that has perennially drawn linear TV viewers.”

Leading the genre’s charge has been WWE, whose long-running Monday Night Raw and SmackDown franchises offer new episodes every week of the year. In fact, Raw is television’s longest-running weekly episodic program ever, with 1,375 episodes since its 1993 debut. The show has averaged between 4 million and 5 million viewers over its 26-year run, per Nielsen live-plus-seven-day ratings.

WWE co-president Michelle Wilson said the success of Raw and the 20-year-old SmackDown franchise — the retitled Friday Night SmackDown moved to Fox Oct. 4 after a three-year run Tuesday nights on USA — has been based on the WWE’s ability to market and promote its product across shows and platforms.

“We’ve cracked the code on how to successfully cross-promote to drive audiences from show to show, whether it’s to a specific network or platform,” Wilson said. “We love the fact that being on Monday nights on USA we can drive the audience to Wednesdays on USA and now to Fridays on Fox.”

It also helps to have big-name stars that transcend wrestling, from Hulk Hogan in the 1980s to, more recently, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and John Cena. The Rock, along with other WWE alumni, were scheduled to help bring wrestling fans to SmackDown for its Fox premiere, which marked 20th anniversary of the live, two-hour show.

“Since we announced our five-year agreement [with the WWE for SmackDown] last June, we have been eagerly counting down the days to the launch of SmackDown Live on Fox Sports,” Fox Sports CEO and executive producer Eric Shanks said.

WWE president Wilson said SmackDown’s over-the-air exposure on Fox will provide additional promotion for the company’s other weekly cable shows, including NXT, the series that launched this past Wednesday [Oct. 2] on NBCUniversal-owned USA.

“We have the opportunity on broadcast television to reach 110 million households where we can promote NXT Wednesday nights and back to Raw on Monday nights,” Wilson said. “For us, we love that across all three shows — and then reinforced with our 1 billion social media followers around the world — we can promote all three brands.”

TNT hopes to cut into the WWE’s stranglehold on the genre with All Elite Wrestling, the first pro wrestling content on the network since 2001 when it aired the Turner-owned World Championship Wrestling’s WCW Monday Nitro series directly against Monday Night Raw. Then-Turner parent AOL Time Warner eventually sold WCW’s assets to WWE in 2001.

“AEW sets out to be wrestling’s sports-centric brand, with a huge emphasis on quality of life for talent,” AEW executive vice president Cody Rhodes, also an in-ring performer, said. “[The WWE] loves to say they are sports entertainment, and that’s what they’ve marketed and done so well. We’re going in a completely different route … it’s almost like you’re watching the UFC or a boxing event.”

TNT senior vice president of original programming Sam Linsky said the live, action-packed content of pro wrestling fits well with the TNT brand, which includes live National Basketball Association games and marquee movies.

Along with TNT’s weekly airing of AEW: Dynamite, the Turner Sports-owned streaming service Bleacher Report Live will also carry AEW’s pay-per-views and other special event programming, according to AEW chief brand officer Brandi Rhodes.

“Wrestling has been a monopoly for 20 years … fans are actually craving some different styles and different ways of presenting wrestling,” Linsky said. “We have such a great history here, it felt like a natural match on network that has a lot of sports and high-octane movies, and is really known historically for being part of the wrestling [genre].”

In the other corner on Wednesday nights is WWE NXT, which was created in 2014 for its then upstart streaming service WWE Network. The live, two-hour NXT series also made its USA debut Oct. 2.

“I just love the brand of NXT,” USA Network and Syfy president Chris McCumber said. “They have this kind of fight cult feel to it as if you’re in the club. We’re all about investing in passionate clubs and passionate fans, and NXT is definitely part of that.”

Added Wilson: “From an advertiser/ratings perspective, we know that its reaching a younger, more male audience, so that is unique positioning The brand is a little grittier and edgier to appeal to that audience specifically.”

In their first head-to head matchup, AEW: Dynamite drew more than 1.4 million total viewers compared to NXT’s more than 890,000 watchers, prompting a statement from WWE congratulating TNT and AEW on a successful premiere. “The real winners of [Wednesday’s] head-to-head telecasts of NXT on USA Network and AEW on TNT are the fans, who can expect Wednesday nights to be a competitive and wild ride as this is a marathon, not a one-night sprint,” WWE added.

Neither WWE’s Wilson nor TNT’s Linsky expressed concern about suffering a ratings smackdown due to the head-to-head competition between their respective wrestling franchises. In fact, both believe that the competition will create audiences for each show.

“We view competition as an opportunity to make ourselves better,” Wilson said. “The Monday-night [wrestling] wars years ago actually increased viewership because of the back and forth between the two brands at the time. We view competition as a good thing.”

Added Linsky: “[AEW] is a challenger brand and fits right into the narrative of the franchise. If we can deliver something special and a great product to fans, there’s room for everybody.”

Crowded Ring

Other networks such as the Anthem Sports & Entertainment-owned AXS TV — which will feature the Impact Wrestling series to accompany its WOW (Women of Wrestling) and NJPW (New Japan Pro-Wrestling) wrestling shows — have also embraced wrestling’s sports entertainment appeal.

“Professional wrestling is the hottest programming on TV right now for a number of reasons, but one of the main reasons is how relatable the content is to the viewing audience,” said Ed Nordholm, chief corporate officer of Anthem Sports & Entertainment and president of Impact Wrestling. “The sport authentically engages with its fans like no other, and the stories extend well beyond the ring, through appearances and performances, as well as its coverage in the media and social.”

While AEW’s content rating is TV-14, Carroll said that for the most part, today’s more family-friendly, TV-PG-rated wrestling shows have provided opportunities for advertisers to target hard to reach young viewers than the more violent wrestling shows of two decades ago.

“There’s no longer the same degree of scrutiny of wrestling as there was years ago, mainly because they no longer pretend that they are a real sport and now present themselves as a sports-like exhibition,” he said. “As a result, you have a mix of storylines, live events and a degree of competition, which bring in audiences. Advertisers will go where the audiences they are targeting are likely to be.”

As cable TV’s wrestling ring becomes increasingly crowded, industry observers expressed concerns that the genre may soon reach its peak.

“There could end up being a glut … it remains to be seen,” Berke said. “If you have the right stars and the right writers, then it can work, but you have to create stars. That’s who people tune in to see.”

Added Carroll: “Ultimately the viewing audience is going to make that decision. How each show develops their matches will determine whether viewers will watch one or more of these shows.”