Can AEW thrive without tv.
By Scott Keith on 24 February 2019
Hi Scott
With the recent news that AEW are struggling to get any kind of tv deal and are now looking at streaming a show either on a premium platform like Netflix or a free one like Twitch. Do you think it’s possible to run a successful major (they’re allegedly paying million dollar contracts) wrestling company just on a streaming service?
Allow me to quote Meltzer, who spoke on this subject this morning on the F4W board…"If a streaming service will pay you $30 million or $100 million a year, there's nothing wrong with it. There's also nobody thus far willing to do it, but until this year, in MMA nobody would do it and we had DAZN and ESPN+ both pay ridiculous money. The game is money and exposure and ultimately you want the deal that maximizes both. Boxing big shows are going strictly money and limiting exposure and that's served them well monetarily but also why boxing has suffered mainstream. It doesn't have to be TV but for all the talk, no streaming service has paid anyone in wrestling close to what you'd need. Could it happen tomorrow. Of course,MMA has shown that. But the game is money and exposure and balancing both out."
My thoughts: Given how desperately companies like Facebook were throwing money at WWE for junk like Mixed Match Challenge and how desperately Amazon wants into the sports game, I think that yeah, someone can easily step up and make it happen for AEW.