Backstage News On Whether Recent AEW Ratings Have Impacted WBD Relationship

Viewership figures for AEW have slumped in the last few weeks, but that is reportedly not a matter of concern for the promotion's broadcast partner WBD.

As per a report by "Fightful Select," WBD is pleased with AEW, with sources revealing to "Fightful" that WBD expected a drop in viewership due to AEW competing with football. Tony Khan had claimed earlier this year that WBD CEO David Zaslav is happy with AEW and that WBD is "excited about the potential" of the company.

Last week's "AEW Dynamite" viewership declined to 774,000 viewers – the lowest since June 15, 2022 — from 901,000 viewers the previous week. While "AEW Collision" garnered 472,000 viewers, which dropped from 518,000 total viewers the previous week. WWE, AEW's main rival, also experienced lower ratings as "WWE Raw" and "WWE SmackDown" saw a decline due to football this past week.

A new report has revealed that AEW rejected an offer from WBD for their library, pay-per-views, and programming. Tony Khan apparently believed that the offer fell short of the market value. The same report stated that WBD is keen to hold on to NBA media rights, which is reportedly expected to be more expensive. This could potentially impact the amount of money the network can bid for AEW and its programming. Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer recently stated that, in addition to the NBA, NASCAR and the NCAA are also likely to become more expensive in the years to come.