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  • 6/22/2025
Transcript
00:00Ja, we'll find out, it's continuing its coverage here at the Cannes Lions Festival
00:04And you never know who you're going to run into on the ground here
00:06Joining me now is AEW CEO Tony Khan, I should say All Elite Wrestling
00:11Yes, AEW All Elite Wrestling
00:13Yes, so I've been following you for a while
00:17I've been following the growth of this brand
00:19For those not familiar, how big has AEW gotten since you launched a couple years ago?
00:24Well we have a huge audience
00:26We've got a great partnership with Warner Brothers Discovery
00:30We have Wednesday Night Dynamite on TBS every Wednesday night
00:34We've got Saturday Night Collision on TNT every Saturday night
00:38And this is the first year of the simulcast
00:40So now the show every Wednesday night, it simulcast TBS and MAX
00:45Every Saturday night TNT and MAX
00:47So the company keeps growing, expanding
00:49We have a huge audience, AEW's on in over 150 countries worldwide
00:54Millions of people watch the show every week, all over the planet
00:58So AEW's grown so much
01:00And the lifeblood of the company is our great wrestlers, our great fans
01:04And that partnership with Warner Brothers Discovery
01:07I'm trying hard not to have like a wrestling trivia contest with you right now in real time
01:12I'm not going to do it, I'm not going to do it
01:13But, you know, what made you, before we look forward, what made you start this?
01:17Because when you started AEW, I mean there was WWE, WCW Folded
01:22And no other company was competing in it
01:25But something must have been going on in your head
01:27Say I need to take on a company like this
01:28Well it was a great opportunity, we launched AEW in 2019
01:32In 2018 I was looking at the pro wrestling landscape
01:35And I realized there was a real opportunity to launch a challenger brand in this business
01:40That's what's happened with AEW, we've grown the company so much
01:44We started in 2019 and we're coming up just weeks from now
01:48July 2nd we're going to celebrate 300 episodes
01:51300 episodes
01:52Of Wednesday Night Dynamite
01:53Recently we had this huge milestone, episode 289
01:56That doesn't sound like a round number
01:58But the reason 289 is a big milestone
02:00Is it signified AEW becoming the longest running, primetime, pro wrestling show ever on TBS and TNT
02:09Wednesday Night Dynamite, we've done 300 episodes now
02:12288 was the previous record
02:15So we've set the record there
02:18TBS and TNT, they have such a great history of showing wrestling
02:21So to be the company that's put on the longest running primetime weekly pro wrestling show ever on Turner Sports
02:27That's pretty sweet
02:28And we're having a really really great year
02:32It feels like 2025 is in a lot of ways the best year we've had
02:36I mean we're having a great
02:37How big is the business? How many sales do you bring in?
02:40Is it making money? What's the business like?
02:42Yeah, we're doing fantastic
02:43This was a huge year for us
02:44We grew the business so much with the simulcast
02:46We brought a new audience with Macs and streaming
02:49But also we've been able to grow our cable audience year over year
02:52Frankly that cable and satellite
02:54Growth the cable? Who's doing that?
02:56Well, you know, honestly us
02:58Because a lot of people thought when you start simulcasting AEW on Wednesday nights and Saturday nights
03:03Oh, okay, well a lot of people, they're still going to watch the show but people are going to migrate to streaming
03:08Well, actually our cable audience when we started simulcasting went up
03:11And we have a great audience on Macs streaming every week too
03:15So we have been able to do that and we've really maintained and grown a great audience over the years
03:20AEW, we say it's where the best wrestle and I really believe that's true
03:25I think we have the best roster of wrestlers in the world
03:27Key point because I think you and I would both agree that talent is what makes wrestling
03:32And I look back over the years, in the 80's it was really gigantic people yelling into a screen
03:39Cutting, what, 30 second snippets
03:41But what makes a great talent nowadays in wrestling?
03:44Well, it's a great question
03:45I think it's a total package
03:47Different than the total package
03:49Lex Luger
03:50Come on, you aren't going to get that one past me
03:52I knew you were going to say that
03:53And that's okay, I love Lex
03:55And I think that exactly
03:57You've got to have somebody that has all the skills right now
03:59That total package
04:01You want to have somebody that has the ability to talk and connect with the audience
04:06Somebody that has charisma
04:07And somebody that's a great athlete
04:08The fans want great pro wrestling matches in 2025
04:12And they deserve great matches
04:14And that's what AEW gives the fans every Wednesday night on TBS
04:18Every Saturday night on TNT
04:20We've got a roster of wrestlers from Hangman Page to Jon Moxley, Will Ospreay, MJF, Mercedes Monet, Timeless Tony Storm
04:30So many great wrestlers that can connect with the audience
04:32They have charisma, but also they're great in the ring
04:34A lot of CEOs that I've talked to here at Cannes so far
04:37I'm getting mixed reads on the economy
04:39What do you see through your ticket sales
04:41Your sales at the stands where I go get a t-shirt and a hoodie?
04:46We're having a great year
04:47So for AEW it's been really strong
04:49I think you have to work really hard to earn the fans trust
04:54To earn the fans spending these days
04:56You have to really put on a compelling product
04:59You know at the movie theaters
05:00The movies that draw are the big ten-pole movies
05:03You know it's changed a lot
05:05Just to look at the movie business for example
05:07I was looking at the movies that came out around 20 years ago
05:11Around the holidays
05:13I saw like 14 movies a month back in the 90's
05:17You know now people don't see 12, 14 movies a month
05:20Around you know the winter and the summer
05:22So it's changed a lot
05:24You really have to earn the consumer confidence
05:27And there are less and less players in the space
05:31And that's why with media consolidation
05:33It's really really important
05:34Whether you're sports, entertainment, or pro wrestling
05:37Which is really great elements of both
05:39But first and foremost wrestling is a sport
05:41And it has a great audience
05:43And like great sports fans
05:46Wrestling fans come back
05:48Because they want to see the best athletes
05:49They want to see the best competition
05:50And wrestling is a little different
05:52Because there's great stories that drive pro sports
05:55Family stories, competition stories
05:58And those same elements exist in pro wrestling
06:01But we're able to really drive them, hit them home
06:04Take the best elements of movies and TV
06:06And build them in
06:08And that's what's great about wrestling
06:10But you know I think
06:12When you're asked about the economy for AEW
06:142025 has been a great year for us
06:16But I'm not going to lie
06:17Like when we started in AEW in 2019
06:21There were a lot of shows
06:23There were a lot of channels
06:25And frankly media has consolidated and changed
06:29And I'm really proud that after 6 years
06:31AEW is still a huge part of the conversation
06:33And growing
06:34Warner Brothers
06:35Like you mentioned
06:36Warner Brothers is splitting up
06:37What does that mean for your deal
06:38Your rights deal with them?
06:39That's a great question
06:40You know I know that AEW
06:42For both sides of where Warner Brothers is going
06:44We have great relationships with everybody at the top
06:48Both on global networks and streaming and studios
06:52Mr. Zasloff himself put our deal together
06:54Gunnar who will be running global networks
06:57Also was very involved in our deal
06:59As the CFO
07:00The two of them
07:01And Bruce Campbell really negotiated this deal
07:03With AEW and myself and my team
07:05So on both sides
07:07We've got the great relationships
07:09And both sides that really love AEW
07:12And they've come to be great partners with AEW
07:14So for us it's been a big year 2025
07:17And now we're kind of on both sides of that equation
07:20We are a big part of TBS and TNT
07:23The crown jewels of the global network side
07:26And then we're also a huge now part of streaming in studios
07:30With AEW streaming every week
07:31So it's exciting
07:32Two last ones for you
07:33I would say rapid fire questions
07:34First up
07:35I need you to give wrestling fans what they want to know
07:38There's been some chatter in the wrestling circles
07:40That WWE may be up for sale
07:43TKO
07:44May want to take it out of the portfolio
07:47Any interest?
07:48I have not heard that
07:49Not heard that?
07:50That's the first I've heard of that
07:51I'm not sure about that
07:53Next up
07:54Would you ever
07:55We've seen a host of promoters
07:57Become part of the storyline in wrestling
08:00I watch AEW
08:01I have not watched every episode full disclosure
08:03Are you the type of promoter that
08:05Is going to take a chair to the head?
08:07Do you want to take a honky tonk
08:09Type guitar to your head here?
08:12I really don't want to get into the ring
08:14And I like to think of myself as the commissioner
08:16As more of a device
08:17You know when you watch NFL football
08:19We have a great commissioner
08:20He's done so many great things for the league
08:22And the way the NFL features Roger
08:25I think is fantastic
08:26It's great to have the commissioner involved in the game
08:28He makes the rulings from on high
08:30But when you watch an NFL football game
08:32It's not 47 minutes of Roger
08:34And you don't need to see 47 minutes of me on Dynamite
08:37Nor do you ever really see me on
08:38The show as the matchmaker
08:41And the promoter
08:42I'm a device on the show
08:44And one time I was attacked
08:47And I am very lucky to be sitting here with you right now Brian
08:51One year ago I survived the deadliest move in pro wrestling
08:54The Spike Piledriver
08:55Ooh
08:56The Spike Piledriver
08:57They're still doing that?
08:58Yeah, it's banned in several states
08:59It's illegal in the state of Tennessee
09:01It's illegal in Mexico
09:02And we'll be heading to Mexico this week
09:05The first ever AEW show in Mexico is tomorrow
09:08I'll be flying from here to Mexico City
09:10I'm doing this with you
09:11And jumping on the plane
09:12And really going from wire to wire
09:15This is beautiful here
09:16Yeah
09:17And Mexico City is going to be great
09:18And you know I don't want to necessarily get into the ring
09:23My one time I got tricked and attacked in the ring
09:27Is enough to keep me out for life
09:29Alright well Tony Khan
09:30Always good actually good to connect with you
09:32Alright do stick around
09:33Much more on Yahoo Finance