Since its launch in 2019, All Elite Wrestling has taken the formerly monopolistic sports entertainment world by storm. Now, it has two television shows, “Dynamite” on TBS and “Rampage” on TNT, with the possibility of more in the future. In its less than four years of existence, AEW has proved itself to be a viable and profitable alternative to the dominant World Wrestling Entertainment, which had been the only game in town as far as professional wrestling was concerned for more than 20 years.
With all of the success the organization has achieved in its short lifespan, it makes sense that AEW is looking to branch out into streaming in the near future. In a recent Bloomberg profile of the company's owner and CEO, Tony Khan, it was reported that someone “familiar with management’s thinking” believed the pro wrestling company is considering starting a streaming service with its library, which includes all of the company’s content as well as that of Ring of Honor, another wrestling organization that AEW recently acquired.
Despite having a multi-million dollar deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns TNT and TBS, it seems that AEW is currently looking to strike out on its own rather than joining WBD’s existing streaming service HBO Max. How WBD would feel about a potential AEW streaming service remains to be seen, especially as the company owns the broadcast rights to Rampage and Dynamite. But, even if AEW programming doesn’t stream on HBO Max, that doesn’t mean that the companies couldn’t make a deal on further distribution.
With four years of weekly content, dozens of pay-per-view events, and Ring of Honor’s archive under its belt, AEW definitely has enough programming to fill out a potential streaming platform. Viewers seeking to watch some of the biggest stars in wrestling today, such as Chris Jericho, MJF, Jon Moxley, Jamie Hayter, Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D., and more, would likely be delighted to be able to access all of AEW’s content in one convenient location.
To start its own streaming service would be a major move to compete with industry giant WWE in yet another arena. WWE’s extensive library of wrestling content currently lives among Peacock’s premium tier for domestic viewers, where it has been since NBCUniversal acquired the company’s streaming rights in 2021. While AEW has nowhere near the amount of content its much larger and older competitor possesses, a streaming service would be another step in the direction of competing with the WWE in every sphere of content distribution.
So, if Tony Khan is looking to step into the ring against WWE in yet another way, this streaming service could be just the finishing move he’s been looking for.
All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite
A world-class roster of diverse male and female wrestlers give fans a new wrestling experience for the first time in 20 years.