Tony Khan speaks on airing TV events live when they emanate from international locations.
All Elite Wrestling is expanding each year, and recently, they broke new ground by hosting their first-ever episode of AEW Dynamite outside of North America. The August 21 episode aired from Cardiff, Wales
Speaking to Stephanie Chase during the media call before AEW All In 2024, Tony Khan addressed why the August 21 aired on a tape delay in the UK despite emanating from Cardiff, Wales. Khan explained the legalities and issues of --airing a show live in the UK before it airs on TBS.
"It’s not legal for me to put the show on live in the UK before I put it on for the people that pay 97% of the TV rights fees in Warner Brothers Discovery," he said. "They have earned the first right of airing the show and they have the legal first right to air the show. I can’t put Dynamite on anywhere before it airs on TBS and TNT, nor should I. TBS and TNT have been a great home to us. FITE has had at times issues in the stream of the show.
"I would love to do the show at some point, if possible, on ITV and put the show, ideally, on at the same time it’s on TBS and TNT," continued Khan. "I just can’t jumpstart our primary media partner. In pro wrestling, those TV rights are a huge component of the business and really drives a lot of the revenue, along with huge tentpole events like AEW All In. Ideally, what I would like to do, is simulcast it, but that would still be very late here. It’s a 1 AM start, that’s not ideal."
Khan also spoke about wanting to return to England in 2025. Read his comments here.
Tony also spoke about his desire to run an event in Australia in 2025. You can read those remarks at this link.
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