Sports Business Analyst Austin Karp Points Out 'Crucial' Factor In AEW-WBD Deal

AEW announced a major deal on the five-year anniversary of "AEW Dynamite," and it has presumably made the young company finally profitable. AEW officially signed a multi-year media rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery that is said by multiple sources to be worth upward of $185 million a year. "AEW Dynamite" and "AEW Collision" will remain on both TBS and TNT respectively, but will also stream live on MAX for those in the United States. The shows will be available on-demand at the beginning of 2025. It was also revealed that pay-per-views will be available for purchase on MAX "later on" next year, at a discounted price. Austin Karp, a sports business analyst, appeared on "Busted Open Radio" to discuss the news. He said MAX is a "key component" and "crucial" factor in the deal.

"I think it's like ... taking a property that you have grown organically with, AEW audiences have not known anything else than being on Warner Bros. Discovery's channels," Karp said. "If you can keep them there, they only know to go one place, and now, if you can now train that audience like, 'Hey, we're also going to be on MAX, you have pay-per-views, you're here, but you're going to continue to get TNT and TBS,' yes, there is value in that, and I think that's why they were able to come to a deal here."

As of this writing, "Dynamite" and "Collision" are set to remain on Wednesdays and Saturdays. "AEW Rampage" will not be added to MAX, but there is a possibility the show could end up running on a new network. AEW will continue to charge for pay-per-views, citing losses by both WWE and UFC when the companies moved to subscription models.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.