For nearly four years, Warner Bros. Discovery have been the exclusive home of all content from Tony Khan’s fledgling All Elite Wrestling. AEW Dynamite and Rampage are aired on TNT and TBS under Warner networks; their pay-per-views meanwhile aer available through Bleacher Report Live, a Warner premium service. The recent cancellation of AEW Dark and Elevation, two YouTube shows, highlights an adjustment of the broadcast deal with WBD to eliminate any non-WBD outlets for AEW content, raising questions about whether the company will be satisfied with existing platforms like TBS and B/R Live or look elsewhere within WBD.
As HBO Max serves as Warner’s streaming service and hosts content from Harry Potter to Game of Thrones, everyone’s eyes are on Max when that conversation comes up. As AEW is under the WBD umbrella, it was only a matter of time before its tape library would be available on Max.
Recently, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav teased that the currently forbidden door between AEW and Max may be opened soon, although the entire AEW catalog remains vaulted. In his remarks during the earnings call for WBD, Zaslav stated that the company is actively developing Max’s lineup for the rebranded streaming service’s relaunch later this month. Sports were specifically mentioned as something they were looking to add to the streamer, according to Zaslav.
A rumor has been circulating that Max will be streaming the AEW ALL IN: London event in August. As of this writing, AEW has yet to announce how its United Kingdom debut will be available to watch, which has led many to speculate that it could be the company’s first event to air on a streaming service. The rumor may be true, which would allow Max to showcase more AEW premium events and backlogged content.
Khan said earlier this year that “there is a lot of interest in both this library and the new weekly content we continue to produce.” In my opinion, there is a lot of interest in the AEW library, and it makes a lot of sense for us to make it available on-demand to fans everywhere.
