Tony Khan Addresses Ratings Decline For AEW Programming In 2023

During a media call for AEW Worlds End 2023, Tony Khan discussed the company's declining television ratings over the past 12 months. However, the AEW President believes that AEW's situation is comparable to WWE's, as the ratings for both companies are symptomatic of current television trends.

"You say Raw is down 8% and Dynamite's down 10%. That's very similar, and both of those are ahead of the decline in cable television. Cable television is down a lot more than 10% year-over-year. And both of us, Raw is down 8% and Dynamite down 10%, are beating the hell out of gravity. And both of us are looking at a big pay raise this year, for Dynamite and Raw."

Despite the flailing ratings for the two promotions, Khan reiterated that he expects both of them to attract big offers for the media rights to "AEW Dynamite" and "WWE Raw." The latest episode of "Dynamite" attracted 843,000 viewers, which is 8% higher than the previous edition's 782,000. "Raw" averaged 698,000 viewers for the Christmas Day episode, while the previous installment pulled in just over 1.5 million viewers.

According to Khan, commentators seem to be more focused on AEW's ratings decline than WWE's. However, he believes that both shows are doing well in the current cable television climate, which is down by almost 20%. Khan also claims that AEW's relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery is positive, despite the media conglomerate reportedly being interested in acquiring the media rights to "Raw" in 2024.