AEW Wrestling will stream on Max as part of a new deal with TNT and TBS

Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max is entering the pay-per-view business.

The streaming service will enter the market as part of a wide-ranging rights deal with wrestling promotion AEW, the companies announced on Wednesday afternoon.

The new deal calls for live episodes of AEW Dynamite continues to air on Wednesday nights and episodes of on TBS AEW Collision The shows will continue to air on Saturday evenings on TNT, but starting in January, the shows will also be broadcast live simultaneously on the Max streaming service, joining live programming from CNN and TNT Sports on the platform.

Later in 2025, Max will begin offering AEW pay-per-view events at a “discounted rate.” Specific details are still being finalized as the company builds the technology needed to offer PPVs.

In an interview with The Hollywood ReporterTony Khan, AEW’s founder, CEO, general manager and head of creative, says Wednesday was the “biggest day in AEW history” thanks to the new contract and the five-year anniversary of the promotion’s launch. He adds that today’s episode of dynamite will include a celebration of the new deal.

“What a perfect time to make this announcement about our future,” he adds. AEW stars include Bryan Danielson, Swerve Strickland, Mercedes Moné, Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher, Jon Moxley, Kazuchika Okada, Toni Storm, Kenny Omega, Darby Allin, Willow Nightingale, Luke Perry’s son Jack Perry, The Young Bucks, FTR and the Lucha Brothers and The Acclaimed.

Kathleen Finch, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery at US Networks, praised AEW’s young audience, predominantly between the ages of 18 and 49, as a key driver of the deal. “Nobody can convince an audience like AEW,” she said in an interview.

“The advantage for WBD now is to bring this great event to a streaming audience. The Max audience, who may not have experienced AEW in any way yet, will experience it every Wednesday and Saturday night starting in January, as well as the library available to stream,” Finch adds. “That’s why we’re very excited about the growth opportunities and exciting opportunity that fandom can bring once we have a new platform on which to showcase AEW.”

Regarding the PPV element, Finch noted that the technology is still in development and a specific launch has yet to be determined, but that this will “open up a lot of exciting possibilities for fans and also for the Max platform.”

“It’s a really exciting opportunity for us to be pioneers on such a huge platform. It’s really exciting for AEW to have this opportunity,” Khan added. “I think there is so much great content on the platform and I think we can add something new to the largest film and television library in the world.”

AEW launched in 2019 as a rival wrestling promotion to the dominant WWE. Khan, the son of Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan, essentially built the AEW brand in collaboration with TNT and TBS, which gave it national distribution and an audience.

In 2022, he also purchased the wrestling promotion Ring of Honor (ROH) from Sinclair.

The 41-year-old is co-owner of AEW along with his father, the Pakistani-American billionaire who owns automotive supplier Flex-N-Gate, the Jaguars and English Premier League soccer club Fulham FC. Tony Khan also serves as Chief Football Strategy Officer for the Jaguars and as Vice Chairman and Head of Football Operations for Fulham.

“I couldn’t ask for better bosses than Kathleen and (WBD CEO) David Zaslav,” Khan says, noting that they invited him to attend the 2024 Paris Olympics with them and their families. “They have been so supportive of AEW since Discovery and Warner Brothers merged to form Warner Bros. Discovery. I have received so much love and support from this team.”

“What he has accomplished in five years is so miraculous that we sometimes lose sight of it,” Finch adds. “Tonight is the five-year anniversary of something that really should be 10 or 15 years old given the growth it has experienced.”

Georg Szalai contributed to this report.