WWE Was Shocked To Discover Warner Bros Discovery Is Interested In Them

Warner Bros apparently has interest in acquiring some WWE programming. This was a big surprise for a lot of fans, considering Warner Bros Discorvery’s relationship with AEW. It apparently came as a shock to WWE as well.

James Andrew Miller, a former EVP of Original Programming for the USA Network, said on an episode of Jimmy Traina’s SI Media podcast that he “wouldn’t be surprised if Warner Bros. Discovery would like a slice of that WWE pie.” That is if Warner Bros doesn’t get the NBA and NBCU doesn’t lock WWE down for another deal.

James Andrew Miller went on to speculate that a new media rights buyer could seek to move Monday Night Raw to another night, so it’s not always secondary to Monday Night Football. This was a big surprise for WWE, as PW Insider reports that there was a lot of interest.

Within WWE circles, there were a lot of people whose ears immediately perked up after Miller’s comments began making the rounds, questioning whether there was anything to this or whether Miller was just speculating.  We actually had several top WWE Execs coming to us asking if we had heard anything from the WBD side about potential interest in WWE.  

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It was also noted that, “I can state that we have not, but that doesn’t mean that it hasn’t been spoken about behind closed doors. The belief is that WBD and AEW have a deal through the end of 2023.  There’s been speculation, which Tony Khan declined to comment on during a media scrum several weeks back, that WBD has the rights through late 2024 to AEW.”

It is also important to remember that, “unless something has changed, Peacock maintains the rights to distribute the WWE Network and the live WWE PPV events through 2026 as part of a five-year deal signed in January 2021.”

This is a very interesting turn of events for the pro wrestling business. It also might spice up upcoming talks between WBD and AEW, especially if they know that the network is willing to throw down WWE money for their programming.

What’s your take on this situation with WWE’s TV rights deals? Who do you hope lands them? Sound off in the comments!