Endeavor’s purchase of WWE has forever altered the company’s landscape. Nevertheless, one more deal still needs to be negotiated.
WWE’s TV deals for Raw and SmackDown, with NBCUniversal and Fox respectively, both expire in 2024. According to F4WOnline when both deals were signed, Raw stayed on USA Network for $265 million per year while SmackDown went to Fox for $205 million annually. Potential suitors will show interest in both shows, and if the first potential party is any indication, the saga is only just beginning.
On the SI Media Podcast with Jimmy Traina, author Jim Miller, who wrote books about the history of ESPN and Saturday Night Live, said other companies will want to get into business with WWE. This could shockingly include AEW’s television partner.
“I think so. And I wouldn’t be surprised, despite the fact that money is such an issue for them, I wouldn’t be surprised if Warner Brothers Discovery wouldn’t like a slice of that WWE pie.”
“Monday Night does not have to be on Monday night,” said Miller. Monday night is a tough night, because if you go through the calendar all year round, there’s sports on Monday night. And you could, if you’re Warner Brothers Discovery, you could say, we’re gonna move it to a different night, we could have the NBA on Thursday night, but we’re gonna figure out a different night for it and all of a sudden it becomes very attractive.”
Miller went one step further, telling Traina that “there are people at Warner Brothers who are interested” in WWE. Now that’s a bombshell.
Controlling WWE’s media rights for at least one show would make Warner Bros. Discovery the home of professional wrestling, as they already have AEW’s Dynamite and Rampage on TBS. It startlingly places shows with competing interests under one roof and could spawn a battle for days and timeslots, especially if this new mass media conglomerate wants more than one WWE show.
This scenario even makes show crossovers a potential reality, redefining the term “forbidden door.” A world would exist where Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks appear on WWE programming, Jon Moxley reunites with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, and a variety of other dream scenarios.
None of this happens if NBCUniversal and Fox extend their TV deals, but it’s a tantalizing thought as business picks up for WWE’s next major media contract.