SEC Filing Clarifies AEW's Future With WBD, Amidst Netflix Purchase

The attempted sale of Warner Brothers Discovery to Netflix has had a lot of wrestling fans talking about what the future could potentially hold for AEW. All Elite Wrestling is in its second year of a media rights deal that started at the beginning of 2025, and will run until at least the end of 2027 or potentially the end of 2028 depending on if the extra year option is picked up, but what happens after that deal for AEW? 

On the morning of January 20, the two parties filed a 519-page proxy statement, which was accepted by the SEC, where Netflix revised its offer to purchase WBD, this time in an all-cash deal. This change comes after Paramount filed a lawsuit attempting to block the sale. The Hollywood Reporter delved into the statement, and while the words "All Elite Wrestling" or "AEW" were never mentioned explicitly, the future of the company due to this sale was very easy to decipher.

Essentially, AEW will not be going to Netflix when the deal closes and that the company's rights will remain with Discovery, meaning that at the end of the current media rights deal, AEW will likely leave HBO MAX and join the Turner Sports app. "AEW Dynamite" and "AEW Collision" will obviously stay on HBO MAX until the current deal expires, as will the company's pay-per-view events, but the weekly programming will migrate to a different service once the current deal is up. As for the pay-per-views. Given how quickly things change in the media world, The Hollywood Reporter also stated that there is a chance that a nonexclusive agreement is reached where AEW could stream on both Turner Sports and HBO MAX. The company is already under a similar agreement as the monthly pay-per-views are also available to buy and stream on Amazon Prime, but that agreement is far from a guaranteed outcome.

Read more: Weird Things Everyone Ignores About AEW

Here Is Where Things Get Complicated For AEW

Things get a little more complicated when it comes the ownership stakes in AEW, because even though it has never been officially stated due to the stake being lower than 10%, Warner Brothers Discovery does indeed own a small part of AEW. 

A source close to the situation stated that WBD's minority position in AEW will remain with the Global Linear Networks (Discovery) side of things when the deal closes. What makes the situation even more confusing is that aside from the company's PR servicing team, which is handled by Turner Sports, AEW has always been listed as an entertainment property in the Warner Brothers portfolio, which could impact where AEW eventually lands when the deal is close.

What is most likely to happen is that they won't land on HBO MAX, regardless of whether it is fully integrated into Netflix, or if it still exists as its own standalone service. The reason for this is very simple; WWE is on Netflix domestically and internationally. Though it has never been confirmed, it is believed by many that WWE's parent company, TKO Group Holdings, put a noncompete clause into the deal between Netflix and WWE as a safety measure in case Netflix were looking to acquire any other wrestling programming. With this clause, AEW wouldn't be able to be featured on Netflix even if the streaming service wanted them as it would violate their existing agreement with WWE.

TKO will also muddy the waters for Global Linear Networks as WWE programming will technically be a part of their portfolio in Italy, and the UFC, which will begin its new deal with Paramount+ in the coming days, are projected to be featured on Netflix in Italy within the next 12 to 18 month, along with several other European countries. Though not related to AEW, TKO having properties in other major media companies could stop the company from landing a new deal with a new media conglomerate if similar noncompete clauses are in play. 

As The Hollywood Reporter mentioned, this is all subject to confirmation as AEW is never explicitly mentioned. However, the new information does confirm that the next few years will be very interesting for AEW as the company will be forced to embark on some sort of new journey before the end of the decade.

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Read the original article on Wrestling Inc.