The dust has seemingly settled on the sale of Warner Bros. Discovery, with Paramount Skydance having won the bidding for the media company after Netflix dropped out. But while there’s still several i’s to dot and t’s to cross, many are already looking ahead for what this means for AEW, which currently has media rights deals with WBD stations TNT and TBS, and a streaming/library/PPV deal with HBO Max. Then there’s the recent confirmation that WBD has a small ownership stake in AEW, adding even more complications should Paramount buy it.
At least for Dave Meltzer, the answer of what happens to WBD’s ownership stake in that scenario is pretty simple. While talking about the upcoming sale and what it means for AEW on “Wrestling Observer Radio,” Meltzer stated that Paramount buying WBD and all its properties means that they would inherit the stake WBD has in AEW, effectively making them part of AEW’s ownership group. What that means beyond that, however, is something even Meltzer doesn’t know, though he expects it won’t hurt AEW in the short term.
“The situation here is number one, Paramount will own a percentage, a very small percentage, but they’ll own a percentage of AEW,” Meltzer said. “So they are part owners now, if this, when…if the thing goes through, because WBD has an ownership stake. And that will be transferred to Paramount. So they’ll own part of the company. So that’s a good reason, if the company’s profitable, which it is right now, to want to keep it. It’s not like there’s $62 million of losses this year. If they owned that company, maybe they would get rid of it.”
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Wrestling Observer Radio” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
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