As All Elite Wrestling (AEW) continues to negotiate its next media rights deal, the pro wrestling promotion could be on the verge of sending a “shockwave” through the industry.
According to Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp (subscription required), “there has been discussion of an AEW show moving to Fox” as a part of the company’s next media rights deal. News of AEW’s reported discussions with Fox comes just days after AEW owner and president Tony Khan repeatedly used the term “shockwave” — which the company recently trademarked — in his post-show press conference following AEW’s All Out pay-per-view, leading many to speculate that it will be the name of a new show.
“After the Shockwave trademark emerged, there was internal speculation in both worlds that a new program could be headed to the Fox family of networks, whether it be Fox itself, Tubi, FS1, or anywhere else,” Sapp wrote, later adding: “Neither AEW or Fox have confirmed these talks. It’s worth noting we haven’t even confirmed Shockwave is a show, but there has been discussion of an AEW show moving to Fox.”
The timing of AEW potentially reaching a deal with Fox is curious, as it comes in the same week that the network’s five-year run of airing WWE SmackDown came to an end. Many believed that Fox had soured on the idea of airing professional wrestling due to the return on ad rates — or lack thereof — based on comments that Lachlan Murdoch made last fall.
But according to Sapp, that’s not necessarily the case, as Fox didn’t have trouble selling ads, but rather it was more a matter of its WWE rights fee cutting into that revenue. Presumably, an AEW rights fee wouldn’t be nearly as high as the reported $1 billion Fox paid WWE over the course of its five-year deal — although neither would be the return from a ratings or ad sales standpoint.
Sapp also noted that Fox has previously shown interest in adding non-WWE pro wrestling programming, including a deal for the MLW promotion to air on the Tubi streaming service, which later fell apart (and was at the center of MLW’s antitrust lawsuit against WWE, which was later settled). It’s unclear whether a potential AEW show on Tubi, Fox, FS1 or another Fox-owned platform.
While news of AEW’s reported discussions with Fox is certainly notable, the belief remains that the bulk of the company’s next media rights deal will see it re-sign with its current partner, Warner Bros. Discovery. More than two months after saying that the two signs were in the “red zone” on a potential deal, Khan told reporters on Saturday that he’s “100 percent sure the ball’s going in the end zone.”
