Eric Bischoff on AEW’s TV Contract After Paramount-WBD Merger
Eric Bischoff thinks AEW’s television agreement could limit immediate changes following the Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merger. He drew a distinction between Tony Khan’s position as a programming partner and his own time running WCW as a Turner employee.
Conrad Thompson asked Bischoff on 83 Weeks which warning signs Khan should watch for as the network’s ownership changes. The planned combination is expected to close October 6, but Bischoff did not claim to know the terms of AEW’s deal.
“It’s a little different though. I get your point. It’s a great question. I’m really glad you asked it. I’ve never thought about this before in this context. It’s different though, Conrad, because when I was running WCW, I was an employee of Turner. So, they could push buttons and pull strings and make things happen and call me two days later and tell me about it. Whereas Tony’s got a contract. So, there’s a limit. Now, could they ask him to schedule or reschedule things like that? Maybe depending on what’s in the contract. Usually you kind of protect yourself, but if you’re really interested in growing a relationship, perhaps you allow some flexibility and perhaps that’s something that could happen potentially.”
Bischoff expects any early maneuvering inside the combined company to be less visible to Khan than the corporate changes he experienced firsthand. His comments were a forecast, and he acknowledged that he did not know AEW’s precise contract timeline.
“They’re not going to mess with his budget. I mean, his contract’s coming to an end here within a reasonably short period of time, year, whatever it is, I don’t know. So, there’s no need to enter into anything that would end up in litigation. So, they’re not going to try to force anything on Tony that’s outside of the agreement. So, I don’t really think Tony will have much visibility into most of the changes that start happening in the beginning. When it becomes obvious and we’re reading about it in the news, that’s one thing. But the little nuance kind of maneuvering and things that you would see if you were inside the corporate tomb, so to speak, Tony won’t have visibility into that.”
Source: 83 Weeks with Eric Bischoff, “Should Tony Khan panic that Paramount bought WB/HBO?”.
