Exploring the Depth of WWE and WBD’s Television Rights Talks

WWE was in some serious television contract talks, and Warner Brothers Discovery wasn’t off the table. Although WBD hosts AEW programming, they were reportedly players, as it was reported during that time that WWE and WBD’s talks were not a dead deal. Now we are getting new details about how far along those talks got.

According to Sean Ross Sapp on Fightful Select, industry sources expected WWE to wait for the right time to announce a deal for WWE RAW’s move to Netflix. The market wasn’t strong for television deals at the end of 2023, and WWE aimed to avoid a hit to their stock. WWE and WBD met last year before WWE secured their television rights, due to their relationship through TNT Sports.

“Regarding the WWE aspect of things and the rumored meeting last year between WWE and WBD, industry sources said that they expected all along WWE to wait until the right time to announce a deal for WWE Raw. One of the main reasons for that was that the market wasn’t particularly robust for TV deals at the end of 2023, and despite getting a healthy increase on their Smackdown rights, the stock took a hit. This is something WWE was said to look to avoid, and WBD wasn’t surprised by this. WWE and WBD did meet last year before WWE secured their television rights. When Fightful asked WBD sources about the meeting, we were told that the two sides are international business partners because of the relationship with TNT Sports and WWE.”

WBD sources indicated that extending television rights likely included AEW, as the market for selling rights in late 2023 was not attractive. Announcements are expected well within 2024. WBD is also involved in negotiations for NBA rights, which are a major priority.

Meanwhile, AEW and WBD are confident their partnership will continue, with cross-promotional efforts like the House of the Dragon integration and the Reebok deal for the Young Bucks. An offer from WBD has been on the table for months, but details are scarce.

We will have to see how the television landscape looks in the next few years. It appears that AEW and WBD are going to work out a deal. WWE, on the other hand, is preparing to embark on some massive deals with Netflix, The CW and the USA Network, who will get RAW, NXT and SmackDown, respectively, with the next batch of media rights deals.

What’s your take on WWE’s current television situation? Are you glad that they’re going to Netflix? Let us know what you think in the comments section!