Important Streaming Trend May Impact WWE & AEW Business Deals In 2023

Important Streaming Trend May Impact WWE & AEW Business Deals In 2023 WWE

An interesting streaming trend has emerged that may be relevant to WWE and AEW business deals in 2023.

As reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Thursday night NFL games on Amazon Prime are performing at almost the same level in the 18-49 demo that the Monday night games do on ESPN.

Meltzer notes that this trend is important as the key audience for AEW and WWE – the 18-49 demo – can be easily engaged on Amazon Prime at a level comparable to TV networks.

Meltzer explained:

“A very important note as it relates to WWE and AEW business deals in 2023 is that the Thursday night NFL games on Amazon Prime are doing almost the same in 18-49 that the Monday games do on ESPN.

“ESPN does far more total viewers because of the over 50 audiences, as would be expected, but it tells you that if you are AEW or WWE you will get your key audience if you move to Amazon Prime which was the scary part of a move to streaming.

“Before the fear was that making such a move if they paid more would hurt you due to less viewership and both companies need the most viewers possible for live shows, merchandise and public perception.”

The report notes however that WWE and AEW are not the same as NFL in terms of dedicated viewership. However, the draw of NFL games on Amazon Prime shows that streaming is viable, and could be more so “in a year or two.”

Meltzer continued to explain what the trend means for future AEW and WWE negotiations, noting:

“In something that could affect both WWE and AEW with next year’s negotiations, it is confirmed Netflix is looking at getting into live sports. People have talked about this for years.

“Nick Khan had talked about things behind-the-scenes happening that he thought meant it would happen. Media reports this week from the Wall Street Journal and Deadline noted that Netflix had talks about purchasing the World Surf League and broadcasting its events, as well as several tennis tour events.

“A quote from a Netflix insider said, “Sports is the baseline now, we all know it, and finding the right properties, the right leagues is a priority, but it is always a question of the right league, the right deal.”

WWE’s co-CEO recently announced an Spanish-language comedy series in collaboration with Netflix.

The promotion also has another in-road with Netflix, as the streaming service has been working on a documentary on Vince McMahon for the last two years.

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1 year ago by Laura Cude

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