Tonight, All Elite Wrestling will present its latest episode of AEW: Dynamite on TBS, a channel owned by Warner Brothers Discovery. Whether or not AEW stays underneath the WBD umbrella has been a hotly discussed topic in the last week. Haus of Wrestling has reported that WWE appears to have been in talks with WBD about the Raw TV rights, but neither WWE nor AEW have confirmed such talks are ongoing. If WWE were to make a deal with WBD, it would affect the deal AEW can make with WBD and open the door for Tony Khan to take his content elsewhere.
Axios reports that Warner Brothers Discovery CEO David Zaslav and Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish met on Tuesday in New York City about a possible merger. It was noted that Zaslav has also spoken with Shari Redstone, who owns Paramount’s parent company, about the potential deal. Currently, WBD’s market value is estimated at $29 billion while Paramount’s is at $10 billion, so it would not be two equally sized entities merging but would further consolidate the television industry.
The meetings between Zaslav and Bakish are said to have lasted hours and took place at Paramount’s headquarters in Time Square. They reportedly discussed how the two companies could complement each other, possibly by merging their popular Max and Paramount+ platforms into one that could rival Netflix and Disney+.
It was also speculated that WBD could use its international footprint to boost some of Paramount’s franchises. WBD could also use some of Paramount’s children’s programming to help advance their long-term streaming ambitions. There was also the idea that CBS News could be combined with CNN to “create a global news powerhouse.” A source familiar with the talks said the deal could see WBD purchasing National Amusements Inc., but it was unclear if that would be the case. WBD is said to have hired bankers to explore the deal further.
AEW is not mentioned in the report, nor is WWE, for that matter. How this possible merger could affect talks with both companies is yet to be seen. It is worth noting that Zaslav is the man whom CM Punk claims gave him the nickname “One Bill Phil” and views The Second City Savior as a valuable pro wrestling commodity.
Haus of Wrestling is working to gather more on the situation and will bring you more soon.