Some important people were backstage on AEW Dynamite - Reports

AEW has completed five years, and there could be some changes on the horizon in its broadcasting decisions. The Jacksonville-based company's ongoing five-year broadcast deal with Warner Bros. Discovery is in its final days, and the negotiation window is set to close in July 2024.

A PWInsider report suggests several important individuals from Warner Bros. Discovery were present during the latest episode of Dynamite, which took place in Los Angeles. The names include Sam Linsky, Associate General Manager and Senior Vice President, Programming and Operations, TNT, TBS, and truTV. He was accompanied by several other executives and other staff of the company.

AEW President Tony Khan, for his part, is sitting pretty well after the brilliant performance of the Double or Nothing 2024 PPV and the return of one of his most popular professional wrestlers, Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF), to the roster, dissing rumors that The Salt of the Earth was about to move to WWE.

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Dave Meltzer speculated that AEW could turn into a three-hour program

In the past month, the Tony Khan-led promotion has been forced to make several changes as far as the broadcasting of its weekly shows is concerned. The promotion aired Dynamite and Rampage back-to-back in a three-hour block on May 1, 2024, to accommodate for the NHL Playoffs, which took the time slot of Friday Night Rampage on TNT and TBS. Additionally, the May 4, 2024, episode of Saturday Night Collision was not aired.

Some reports suggest that TNT and TBS want to keep five hours of programming weekly, but Tony Khan was unhappy with that decision.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, veteran journalist Dave Meltzer suggested that the promotion should ditch Friday Night Rampage and add an extra hour to Wednesday Night Dynamite, adding that a third hour on Wednesday was more valuable from a business standpoint than a one-hour show on Friday.

“From a business standpoint, from an AEW standpoint, and from a WBD standpoint even more, a third hour on Wednesday is a lot more valuable than a one-hour show on Friday. So from both sides, looking at this from a business standpoint, and if you want to have five hours, drop the Friday because the Friday is just not—it’s [Rampage] a C show, and a third hour on Wednesday’s going to greatly outdraw that one hour on Friday,'' he said.

It will be interesting to see how the deal between the two parties shapes in the coming weeks.