WarnerMedia announced today an expanded relationship with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), the groundbreaking new wrestling league that has already redefined wrestling with resounding success after only a few months. WarnerMedia has extended their deal for AEW: DYNAMITE, a top 20 new cable unscripted series, through 2023. In addition, the parties have agreed to launch another night of AEW action, offering more of the fans’ favorite wrestlers, with a second show straight-to-series.
“When Tony Khan first shared with me his idea of starting a new wrestling league, I was impressed by his audacity to go up against a contender that has been the only game in town for twenty years, and ultimately believed that together we could bring his vision for a new, authentic, gritty product to bear,” says Kevin Reilly, chief content officer, HBO Max, president, TNT, TBS, and truTV. “The fans have spoken and after only three months, we have seen AEW shake up the wrestling world and this will only continue as we build upon this momentum.”
AEW: DYNAMITE exploded onto the wrestling scene when it premiered on TNT as the night’s #1 wrestling show. It has continued to deliver high performing episodes each week with the series averaging 1.2M total viewers and 654K A18-49 per episode in Live +7 Day viewing. In only three months, AEW: DYNAMITE has reached nearly 32 million people across all platforms. The show also delivers the youngest wrestling audience on television.
“When we launched AEW one year ago, we wanted to start a revolution that would disrupt the wrestling business, but everyone said that it would take a strong weekly television partner to make AEW real in the eyes of everyone – above all, the fans,” said Tony Khan, President, and CEO of AEW. “What virtually no one realized at the time was Kevin Reilly and TNT were committed to this very same movement from Day One, and their belief in us made it possible for AEW to think and act big from the start. Here we are, only three months into Wednesday Night Dynamite, and now we’ve been extended through 2023! We’re now making the ultimate statement that the team of AEW and TNT is here to stay and to bring fans more of the great wrestling that the fans demand and deserve.”
Weekly action-packed matches continue to air live on Wednesdays from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET as part of TNT’s line-up of big, lean-forward television that gives viewers the best seat in the house for electrifying stories, dynamic characters, and thrilling events. A global franchise, AEW has already secured broadcast deals in the UK, Canada, France and Germany and is available in over 100 other countries through the AEWPlus.com subscription service. Both parties are continuously exploring ways to further expand this relationship.
WarnerMedia announced in May 2019 that it was working with AEW by utilizing its position as a next-generation global media company to help build this league into a global pro-wrestling franchise. WarnerMedia has also been offering fans exclusive access to AEW’s extremely popular pay-per-view matches, which kicked off in May 2019, via B/R Live. Their next PPV event, REVOLUTION, which takes place in Chicago on Saturday, February 29, will also stream on the platform, also worldwide on Fite TV. With nearly 100,000 total AEW pay-per-view buys, B/R Live’s high fan engagement provides an invaluable opportunity to build AEW’s audience and maximize its viewership.
AEW is a new global wrestling league that features a world-class roster of diverse male and female wrestlers, giving fans a new wrestling experience for the first time in 20 years. AEW is about more than wrestling. It’s a movement fueled by fans. Focused on fast-paced, high-impact competitions, AEW offers fans more athleticism along with real sports analytics. AEW: DYNAMITE airs in the UK less than 24 hours after the USA, on the ITV Hub from 7 PM, on Thursday at 11.20 PM on ITV4 on Friday evening, before being broadcast at 8.20 AM on Sunday also on ITV4. Only AEWPlus subscribers can watch the shows live from the UK.
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All pics and videos courtesy of AEW