It’s the Thursday before an AEW PPV, and that means president and head of creative Tony Khan talking to media members via conference call.
There are a lot of interesting things to ask Khan about his challenger brand these days, but the most important one for the company is about its next media rights contract. That was always going to be true, but then the only television/streaming partner AEW’s ever had (and that TK said he ever wanted), Warner Bros Discovery, was officially acquired and merged with
Paramount to form a new, mega-media corporation called Skydance.
Khan’s remained his usual enthusiastic-self about Skydance CEO David Ellison’s successful takeover of WBD. Which is a good play, as it’s unlikely complaining about it would help him get the option year in AEW’s existing contract picked up for 2028, or secure a new deal with Ellison’s company. But if we don’t count him repeatedly expressing his admiration for fellow billionaire-heir Ellison (and we don’t), Khan hasn’t really offered any reasons for his optimism.
On the WrestleDream call today (Oct. 15), TK continued to praise Skydance’s leader:
“I have been in a lot of discussions with everybody at the new Skydance and I’m really excited about what’s happened. This is great for AEW and the wrestling fans who like AEW and watched AEW shows. I think AEW is going to become a stronger company and I’ve been very positive and said a lot of things that I was really looking forward to this merger because I’ve had so many great conversations with David Ellison, and I really respect him and like him a lot. I think he’s going to be a fantastic leader.”
But he also dropped a couple WBD names that are staying with the new company who he says are AEW allies and champions. And if he’s right, they’re good ones to have.
“I’m very excited that Channing Dungey will be returning. Channing Dungey’s been a great champion of AEW and a great leader for the Warner Brothers Television, so Channing’s been a great leader for AEW.”
“I have had a great relationship with a lot of the people there. I think JB Perrette is going to be fantastic and is a great part of the team and has been very supportive of AEW and is somebody I got to know in 2024 better and and really like through the renewal process, I think him being here as a leader in the new Skydance is going to be fantastic.”
Dungey has been in charge of Warner Bros Television since 2020. Variety reported she signed a new deal to lead both WBD and Paramount TV for Skydance. She’ll report to JB Perrette, who ran streaming for WBD and will do the same for the merged company. Ellison also named him to Skydance’s initial post-merger leadership, and Deadline called him “one of the big winners” coming out of the deal.
AEW’s head honcho continued explaining that Skydance’s size will allow them to package Dynamite, Collision, and PPVs with a larger library and make it available to more people, something he trusts he can continue to do with Dungey and Perrette, and that the brilliant David E will allow:
“We’ve grown the business on HBO Max… David Ellison’s very positive and excited about AEW. So I’ve had a lot of really good conversations with him as far as what’s going to be the strategy of the company. I can’t speak to all those things but I think it’s going to be great. I think it’s great for AEW and our fans, and for the company, for Skydance and Warner Brothers and Paramount that we’ll have Channing Dungey still leading television for us, and JB Perrette, who’s a great champion of the AEW business… and is going to be taking a big role in Skydance.
“I was very adamant that this was the best path for AEW, and I think the best path for the company. There were are a number of reasons I feel that way but he [Ellison] was the person that had a vision for it. He believed in AEW and I’ve gotten to know him through NFL. I think he’s a great TV and and film leader, and also I think that he was the buyer and the only buyer that was interested in and excited about and has kept TBS, TNT, and HBO Max under the same roof — to have the networks and the streaming still together but now even stronger combined with Paramount.
“This was by far the best case scenario, and I really am glad TBS and TNT and HBO Max are still together under the same strong leadership we’ve had with with Channing and JB, now with a great leader at the top with David Ellison, and a lot of new people that I’m getting to know.”
That’s the latest pitch. Let us know if you buy it, and more importantly if you think Skydance will.
