AEW TV DEAL

[Stefanie Sparkleface]

3 minutes ago, blitzkrieg said:

Would assume that it would be like on-demand replays of AEW where the picture in picture commercial breaks are replaced with on-demand full screen commercials.

They could show the in-ring feed for people on the ad-free plan but I don't think Max is going care enough to bother with that and will just cut the commercial breaks.

Putting on my old TV production hat, I think the more likely scenario is that the PIPs will be dropped in favor of traditional commercial breaks on cable and ad-supported Max, and "your program is in break" title cards for ad-free Max. That's a perfect split point for commercial insertion in the archive on the ad-supported tier.

[AxB]

So long as we still get full live matches with "We're off air in America so we can mess about a bit" commentary on Fite, I don't care.

[NoFistsJustFlips]

I wish they were more specific with the PPV component. Seems like an odd choice to be so intentionally vague. If you have a deal in place announce your deal. Even if they don't have a start date locked in give some kind of price point or clarity.

But this is a big win for AEW. Roughly double their yearly rights fees income, with an addition deal rumored for Fox possibly still to come.

[Stefanie Sparkleface]

16 minutes ago, AxB said:

So long as we still get full live matches with "We're off air in America so we can mess about a bit" commentary on Fite, I don't care.

I would not be surprised if the Fite/Triller partnership comes to an end once Max is up in all areas. The UK is the big standout since they can't launch there until 2026 when their deal with Sky ends, IIRC, but if WBD plans on having things stream on Max, then a competing product would end wherever possible.

Unless, of course, WBD totally bungled it. Considering they're WBD and they've bungled nearly everything in the last three years, that's entirely possible!

[SovietShooter]

20 minutes ago, NoFistsJustFlips said:

I wish they were more specific with the PPV component. Seems like an odd choice to be so intentionally vague. If you have a deal in place announce your deal

Maybe they have current deals in place that prevent them from making such an announcement...?

[blitzkrieg]

24 minutes ago, NoFistsJustFlips said:

I wish they were more specific with the PPV component. Seems like an odd choice to be so intentionally vague. If you have a deal in place announce your deal. Even if they don't have a start date locked in give some kind of price point or clarity.

If a company tells people that in six months they're going be charging people less, it probably isn't going make people psyched to be paying more for the next six months. 

[JLowe]

I thought AEW was doomed and would not ever have another TV deal close to what they had originally…

[NoFistsJustFlips]

Both of those are good points and realistic reasons to not announce all the details now. Doesn't make it less frustrating, but at least understandable. 

[Stefanie Sparkleface]

2 minutes ago, blitzkrieg said:

If a company tells people that in six months they're going be charging people less, it probably isn't going make people psyched to be paying more for the next six months. 

I also wonder if they're figuring out the logistics. If the goal was to do a UFC on ESPN+ sort of deal, Max hasn't had that before. I bet that's a big part of the reason why B/R Live has been sunset, to bring those people into the fold for Max and see what they can make work.

(Ha! B/R Live, actually working! I amuse myself.)

[JLowe]

Saw that someone from WBD implied that the AEW archive will also be available on MAX.

[Kevin Wilson]

Also should be noted, no mention of Rampage so WBD is paying for an hour less of content. Its a more complicated deal than what we are used to seeing between the simulcast and unknown PPV element, plus the archive, but it makes sense in 2025 as it benefits both those that can't shake cable and those that ditched it. I like it, should get more eyeballs on the promotion even if we won't know the number of eyeballs as I am sure the Max numbers will not be released.

[Technico Support]

Next, put the ROH archive on Max, too.  

[Casey]

surely the PPV archive will be included with a subscription, like the shows, and the only thing that’ll be an extra purchase at a discount is currently airing PPVs. Hopefully.

Would be insane if they go the Triller/BR Live route and have the PPV archive for a permanently discount price.

[Kevin Wilson]

Not that its our money but some are reporting its closer to $185 mil a year (WrestleVotes and Fightful). Only matters as the more it is, course that will give them more flexibility to spend in on things that hopefully improve the product, whether it be in production or wrestler contracts. 

[odessasteps]

Some would say spending on wiser and not bigger talent contracts would be a better help for the company. 

[Kevin Wilson]

Just now, odessasteps said:

Some would say spending on wiser and not bigger talent contracts would be a better help for the company. 

Only those that don't think people like Swerve deserve to be paid, and others that have proven themselves to the company, would have an issue with it. Or the typical bad faith posters (not pointing fingers). TK if nothing else has shown he is willing to pay wrestlers what they are worth, so if he continues to pass on the wealth I'm all for it.

[odessasteps]

I meant the people seemingly sitting at home not being used who are not contributing. 

I have no issue paying people being pushed or generating income (via merch or what have you) their fair market value. 

[username]

1 hour ago, odessasteps said:

I meant the people seemingly sitting at home not being used who are not contributing. 

What do you mean, now they have even more money to spend extending people's contracts just to keep them on the shelf as long as humanly possible~

[Octopus]

Honor the contracts you give out. If the money is there (which it looks like it is) having a deep bench is fine. 

Snarky posts about people being paid by a company you have no idea what their finances are like is pretty shitty posting. 

Edited October 3, 2024 by Octopus

[Kevin Wilson]

I guess now we patiently wait for the Fox/FS1 news to drop. A lot of mixed stories out there so didn't see a reason to post them all, although everyone seems very sure it is going to happen in some capacity. Fightful said overall they should be in the $200 mil a year range between WBD and Fox so not going to be a mega deal, but still could be interesting if its the same night as a WWE/NXT weekly show.

[Casey]

50 minutes ago, Kevin Wilson said:

I guess now we patiently wait for the Fox/FS1 news to drop. A lot of mixed stories out there so didn't see a reason to post them all, although everyone seems very sure it is going to happen in some capacity. Fightful said overall they should be in the $200 mil a year range between WBD and Fox so not going to be a mega deal, but still could be interesting if its the same night as a WWE/NXT weekly show.

Rumor is Tuesday or Thursday for the Fox show. Not going to compete with Raw or Smackdown, but also goes against what TK has said this entire time of not competing with the NFL.

[SirFozzie]

I have a source on the whole negotiations, they tell me that the sticking point was a rebrand for one of their midcard stars.

 

That's right, they wanted one of the Acclaimed to rebrand themselves as MAX Caster (all caps).

 

Then they heard some of his past raps and quietly dropped the demand as the brand risk was real.

[lostinube]

I'm going to assume that since Max is not a streaming service in and of itself in Japan this won't really affect the weekly shows getting put on NJPW World (on a delay and depending on how busy New Japan is at any given time). In order to see all the seasons of Larry's Midlife Crisis, people here have to subscribe to U-Next, which is a mish-mash of the old U-Next which had like movies and stuff, TBS (the Japanese one), some NHK and some Max (and not TV Asahi, New Japan's main TV partner). On the other hand, U-Next does handle PPV (UFC, Bellator) and currently, other then Forbidden Door, you have to get the AEW PPVs via Fite. So as a U-Next subscriber I would at least have an easier option (and also a way to use my monthly points) if they started carrying the PPVs there.

Similarly, unless something has drastically changed Netflix Japan is not getting the WWE anytime soon as it appears that ABEMA has the WWE locked in for the time being.

And just as an fyi, when it becomes time to go to PIP on the AEW episodes, NJPW World just shows a title card, like someone at TV Asahi was offended at the very idea of PIP.

 

[just drew]

7 hours ago, Kevin Wilson said:

I guess now we patiently wait for the Fox/FS1 news to drop. A lot of mixed stories out there so didn't see a reason to post them all, although everyone seems very sure it is going to happen in some capacity. Fightful said overall they should be in the $200 mil a year range between WBD and Fox so not going to be a mega deal, but still could be interesting if its the same night as a WWE/NXT weekly show.

I saw some speculation that the WBD deal is still cable-exclusive, so that Shockwave would have to be on big boy Fox. That'd be a big deal...

[Stefanie Sparkleface]

6 minutes ago, just drew said:

I saw some speculation that the WBD deal is still cable-exclusive, so that Shockwave would have to be on big boy Fox. That'd be a big deal...

Lemme throw one out there for you…

Fox owns Tubi and has been looking to up their sports content. They showed a lot of World Baseball Classic, La Liga, and NBA G League games on there, and were also the archive for the men’s World Cup a couple of years ago. I wouldn’t discount that negotiations with Fox are for there, and I’d actually say that’s a bigger deal because Tubi’s userbase has been steadily growing (I think I saw that they were pushing 80 million regular users?).

A lot of content providers are getting behind FAST networks like Tubi and Pluto and seeing them as a more viable option. I’m not saying that they couldn’t be in the running for network TV, but I would say Tubi would be a pretty marvelous option, especially if you’re trying to capture the 18-29 market that watches programming on their laptop or phone, not a TV.