WWE’s Nick Khan & AEW’s Tony Khan Recognised For Business Success

AEW/WWE

Variety’s Dealmakers list for 2024 has been released with AEW’s Tony Khan and WWE’s Nick Khan among the honorees.

The list recognizes the contribution of the honorees to the entertainment industry, reflecting on the challenges of the past few years.

The team behind the list at Variety notes:

Over the last several years, the entertainment industry has been rocked by a succession of body blows. It came out of a global pandemic only to be hit with dual strikes (WGA and SAG-AFTRA) that caused historically long labor stoppages, which were followed by a work slowdown brought on by a deflation of the streaming bubble, exacerbated by the threat of strikes by below-the-line unions.

They then introduce the list of the honorees, along with the rationale behind their selection, stating:

Through it all, the honorees on Variety’s 2024 Dealmakers report continued to work on behalf of their clients. On the whole, the deals weren’t as plentiful or as rich, but, necessity being the mother of invention, often more innovative. They approach the coming new year with a mix of optimism and uncertainty, as they navigate the threat and the promise of artificial intelligence — perhaps the most disruptive of technological innovations to date — while cautiously anticipating the incoming administration in Washington, D.C., which is seen as more friendly to corporate mergers and acquisitions, but hostile to Hollywood, in spite of its leader’s past ties to show business.

AEW owner Tony Khan is featured on the Variety Dealmakers 2024 list, with his profile reading:

In October, five years to the week after Khan launched professional wrestling promotion AEW as a direct competitor to Vince McMahon’s long-dominant WWE, he closed a multi-year media rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, worth a reported $185 million a year, that calls for AEW’s shows and events to be broadcast on TBS and TNT and stream on Max. The company is now valued at more than $2 billion, making it the third-most-valuable combat sports company in the world.

Ain’t bragging if it’s true: “Our new arrangement signifies that AEW will make history as the first professional wrestling promotion to simulcast events weekly on top cable channels and a top streaming platform,” says Khan.

WWE President Nick Khan is also featured, alongside TKO CEO Ariel Emanuel, TKO President & COO Mark Shapiro and TKO CFO Andrew Schleimer, with their profile noting:

Last year, Endeavor merged Ultimate Fighting Championship with World Wrestling Entertainment under the TKO Group Holdings banner. In January 2024, TKO’s leadership quadrumvirate closed a $5.2 billion, 10-year deal to make Netflix the exclusive home of WWE’s flagship show “Raw” in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Latin America and other territories beginning in January 2025. As part of the pact, Netflix will be the home for all WWE shows and specials outside the U.S. from that date forward, giving roughly 80% of international territories immediate access to 100% its content, with the rest of the globe filling out their WWE lineups as outstanding deals expire.

On December 18, the WWE Netflix kickoff event took place in Stamford, CT, with Triple H describing the January 6 2025 WWE Raw premiere as “like nothing you’ve seen before”, as can be seen below this news story.

The event wasn’t all business, however, with Kevin Owens crashing the show and taking issue with not being included.

Logan Paul also revealed that he would be part of the WWE Raw brand starting with the premiere in January.

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• AEW
• wwe
• tony khan
• Nick Khan
• TKO
• TKO Group
• Variety Dealmakers

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