Warner Bros. Discovery is collaborating with AEW on new non-wrestling projects.
Kathleen Finch, WBD U.S. Networks Group Chairwoman & Chief Programming Officer, recently spoke with Mikey O’Connell of The Hollywood Reporter and said that they are working with AEW to create new content that does not take place within the wrestling ring.
Finch discussed how TNT and TBS had one thing in common: highly loyal, male-skewing viewership (55% male). They’ve been talking about what they can do on TNT and TBS to keep those male viewers coming back every night, and how they can drive those viewers from Monday to Tuesday to Wednesday to Thursday with a more defined brand focus.
Finch was then asked how they plan to achieve this goal:
“We really play in the sports space,” she responded. “One of the things that we’re doing around sports is creating shoulder programming to hold onto those fans. AEW pulls huge numbers, so we are working with the wrestling team to figure out what new kind of content can we build that’s not in a wrestling ring.”
AEW previously created the Rhodes To The Top reality show, which aired for six episodes in the fall of 2021 and starred Cody Rhodes and Brandi Rhodes. The show had an average of 365,000 viewers per episode.
Since Cody and Brandi left AEW earlier this year, there have been whispers of more reality-type content, but nothing has been confirmed.
