According to reports, Warner Bros. Discovery have turned down WWE Raw.
In recent times, WWE have finalised deals to secure the long-term media rights for both SmackDown and NXT. The blue brand is confirmed to be heading to the USA Network on a five-year deal worth $279 million per annum while NXT will soon be shown on CW, and negotiations to decide the future host of Monday Night Raw are well underway.
To provide the latest on the ongoing battle to acquire Monday Night Raw’s media rights, Dave Meltzer has written in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that those in contention include Netflix, Amazon Prime, the USA Network and Warner Bros. Discovery, the latter of which is currently the home of All Elite Wrestling.
“For most of the negotiation period the idea was FX as the leader, with Netflix, USA, WBD and Amazon Prime all being talked about.”
-Dave Meltzer
However, when it comes to Warner Bros. Discovery, it’s suggested that a proposition to acquire Raw was made by Nick Khan in October which the network themselves turned down. On top of that, those involved with WBD have quietly said that there is nothing in the rumours of WWE’s Monday night staple landing on TBS or TNT as its next home.
“Regarding WBD which would be the game changer in many ways if it happened, the WBD version told to many this past week is that Nick Khan last went to WBD in October with a pitch and was turned down. There’s always the caveat that because of the AEW relationship that a surprise could happen, but it’s one of those things where those in WBD have privately said there’s nothing to the idea TBS or TNT it is the destination for the show to a number of people in recent days. Those in WWE constantly had WBD has a longshot for the reason they believed WBD owned a percentage of AEW.”
-Dave Meltzer
It’s worth noting that both Nick Khan and Paul Levesque were absent from this week’s instalment of WWE Raw, with the belief being that they were away to continue working on a deal for the future rights to their flagship show. Still, it remains unclear as to where Raw will be broadcast following the expiry of the current contract with the USA Network.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on the media rights for WWE Raw as we hear more.
