Tony Khan Claims AEW Is Losing Millions Of Dollars, Comments On Potential AEW Releases

It's easy to forget it's not just WWE being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. AEW's Tony Khan said during an interview that AEW is losing millions and millions of dollars. As such, the question has been asked, will AEW release anyone?

AEW President Tony Khan was recently a guest on AEW's Unrestricted podcast and, like he has been in the past, was open about AEW business and the state of their plans moving forward. Referencing the current global climate and the economic shift with a pandemic facing the industry, he noted that AEW has lost out on huge money. He explained:

“We’ve talked a lot about what it took to put the show on, but let’s be honest on why we’re doing it. For AEW, our partnership with TNT, putting on great shows, is our revenue stream right now cause we’re not doing the big events.”

That revenue stream is ad dollars. As we reported back in May of 2019, "AEW will reportedly not be receiving any rights fees WarnerMedia and TNT." At least, that wasn't the case under the first tv deal they signed with TNT. While WWE sold Raw and SmackDown to FOX and NBCUniversal for over $1 billion, AEW was counting on splitting ad venues with the network. This isn't all that uncommon for new and unproven shows trying to build an audience.

What AEW didn't expect was ad revenues likely taking a hit as advertisers held off during a pandemic. It's not clear as to how much this has happened, but ad revenues everywhere are down.

Khan also went into detail about the big events AEW was planning to hold in their inaugural year and how much those events would have generated revenue for AEW. Without the big money made from touring and pay-per-view gates from live fans, the idea of capitalizing on the buzz from them being the "hot new thing", they may have missed out on a huge opportunity.

Khan explained:

“This was going to be the best run of business we’ve ever had. And we’ve lost millions and millions and millions of dollars in live events and I don’t take it lightly, but I can’t take it out on the people that work here cause it’s not their fault.”

Will AEW Have to Release Talents?

WWE has taken some heat for choosing to release ove 100 employees during the COVID-19 crisis but AEW has not released anyone. How long will that last?

“We’ve really never let anybody go here as a company. I’m gonna be honest, there’s gonna be a day when someday we’re going to have to, but now is not the time,” Khan said. His deep pockets make that possible now, but how long will that last? Little revenue coming in from a television deal and no live gates could affect things dramatically. Remember, this is a company that gave Jim Ross the largest-ever announcers deal in the history of the business.

Next: AEW Fined By The Maryland State Athletic Commission For Unsanctioned Match