It's been confirmed today that All Elite Wrestling is moving from TNT to TBS in January 2022. The show will remain on TNT until then, with a new hour-long series AEW: Rampage debuting on August 13 at 10pm (that means wrestling fans will be able to jump from SmackDown straight into that show).
Rampage is described as a third hour of high-octane wrestling featuring the world renowned stars of AEW. In addition, TNT will debut four new professional wrestling specials annually, continuing to garner and grow AEW’s audience until the move to TBS in 2022. It remains to be seen what, if any, impact this will have on ratings for Dynamite but there's a good reason for the change.
The NHL and NBA - both of which have considerably higher viewership numbers than Dynamite - have been acquired by WarnerMedia, and that is why AEW is being moved to TBS.
"It’s a pleasure to be able to help Tony Khan expand his wrestling fiefdom across our networks and bring more content to our fans that fits the thrill ride brand of TNT and good time of TBS," said Sam Linsky, Associate General Manager, SVP, Programming and Operations, TBS, TNT and truTV. "It’s Wednesday. You know what that means."
"The history of wrestling in the United States cannot be told without acknowledging the contributions of TBS, which as WTBS years ago delivered wrestling to the Southeast and eventually to a massive national audience," adds Tony Khan, CEO, GM and Head of Creative of AEW. "TBS has the same passion for wrestling today, but will offer AEW and our fans more prime time programming, content and global opportunities that will establish TBS as the world’s undisputed destination for wrestling."
"[The] financial upside to our new agreement will give us the opportunity to continue to invest in and grow AEW to serve the most important people in our industry: our fans, our wrestlers, our staff and our sponsors. With All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite and Rampage taking center stage via our new agreement on TBS next year, and the new quarterly supercards launching on TNT, our exposure and our opportunities to grow AEW are greater than ever!"
How do you feel about this change for AEW? Do you think it will help or hurt the company?