Tony Khan Lashes Out At FOX News Over Ratings Commentary

By Marc Middleton

AEW President, CEO, General Manager & Head Of Creative Tony Khan took to Twitter this evening and posted several tweets lashing out at FOX News.

The FOX News website published an opinion article by Sports Editor Ryan Gaydos this week, looking at how Tony and his father, AEW lead investor Shad Khan, have "had a rough first 15 days of December between [their] business with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the family's venture into professional wrestling with All Elite Wrestling."

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The article looked at how the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, owned by Khan, fired head coach Urban Meyer this week after only 11 months and 13 regular season games with the organization. There were on-the-field issues with Meyer, but Shad fired him just hours after former Jaguars kicker Josh Lambo accused Meyer of kicking him during a team practice over the summer.

Regarding AEW, the opinion piece looked at how AEW's Dynamite and Rampage shows have dropped in the ratings, despite significant signings.

Gaydos ended the article with, "AEW had a very successful summer with the acquisitions of CM Punk, Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole from WWE. AEW's shows 'Dynamite' and 'Rampage' each popped with more than 1 million total viewers at their peaks. 'Dynamite' peaked at 1.319 million viewers Sept. 8 when Punk addressed fans for the first time since appearing at All Out. 'Rampage' peaked at 1.129 million on Aug. 20 when Punk made his debut in Chicago. Since then, things cooled off with 'Rampage,' attracting around 500,000 viewers. 'Dynamite' attracted over 900,000 viewers Wednesday for the first time since mid-November thanks to its 'Winter is Coming' special. As things move into the new year, the Jaguars will be back at square one with a high draft pick and in need of a new coach for the 2022 season. AEW will look to build upon some of the momentum it gained toward the end of 2021. AEW will have a lot of time to build up its top stars as its first PPV of 2022 isn't set until March."

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This did not sit well with the younger Khan. He tweeted the Nielsen ratings charts and noted how AEW Dynamite "has beaten EVERY single" FOX News program as of late. Khan made three tweets in response to the FOX News opinion article.

"Hey @FoxNews it's amusing hearing you opining about @AEW ratings considering #AEWDynamite on Wednesday has beaten EVERY single @FoxNews show for 6 straight weeks! Here are the recent charts (including this week) to prove it. See you TONIGHT on @TNTdrama 10pmET/9pmCT @ #AEWRampage," he wrote in the initial tweet.

It should be noted that Khan was referring to the key demo rating. FOX News programs regularly dominate Dynamite in total viewership. For example, this week's Winter Is Coming edition of Dynamite drew 948,000 viewers with a 0.31 key demo rating, while Tucker Carlson Tonight on FOX News, which also aired at 8pm, drew 3.457 million viewers with a 0.30 key demo rating. Hannity, which went up against the second hour of Dynamite, drew 3.016 million viewers with a 0.25 key demo rating. It should be noted that the prime demographic for news programming is 25-54.

Khan added in his follow-up tweet, "Thanks @FoxNews, I appreciate that you've highlighted @AEW ratings when #AEWDynamite on Wednesdays has beaten EVERY single show on your network for 6 straight weeks. Here are a few more charts, Twitter only let me attach 4 weeks worth to my last tweet! See you TONIGHT #AEWRampage"

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He then wrote in the third and final tweet, "Did you know #AEWDynamite on Wednesdays on @TNTdrama has beaten EVERY single show on @FoxNews for 6 straight weeks? Surely @FOXNews knows as they like talking tv ratings; maybe they should focus on their content instead of playing boar on the floor. See you TONIGHT @ #AEWRampage"

You can see Khan's full tweets below:

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