Paramount Skydance is set to buy Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal that could change where fans watch pro wrestling and mixed martial arts. Shareholders will vote on the sale later this month, and the agreement includes Warner Bros. Discovery’s small stake in AEW.
Deal details and timeline
The company will hold a special shareholders meeting on April 23 at 10 a.m. to vote on the sale. Under the deal, shareholders are to receive $31 per share. That number is far above the recent trading price, which has been about $12.54 per share.
Netflix had earlier announced a merger plan last December but later withdrew its bid after Paramount submitted an offer that Warner Bros. Discovery judged to be better. After the shareholder vote, the acquisition will move toward closing under the terms agreed by the companies.
What this means for AEW
Warner Bros. Discovery owns a small stake in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The deal says Paramount will take over that stake once the acquisition is complete. AEW currently streams shows like AEW Dynamite, AEW Collision, and pay-per-views on HBO Max.
AEW is expected to negotiate a new media rights deal in 2027 or 2028. It is not yet clear how a change in ownership will affect those talks or AEW’s future streaming home. For now, AEW programming remains on HBO Max while the companies work through the acquisition steps.
Streaming services and sports rights
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has said the company plans to combine HBO Max with Paramount+ into a single streaming service, even as he notes a desire to keep some properties like HBO independent in spirit. How that combination would affect AEW, other Warner Bros. Discovery content, or sports rights has not been finalized.
Meanwhile, UFC — owned by TKO — is now exclusively on Paramount+ as of the start of this year. That puts two major combat sports brands on services tied to the companies involved in the sale. Fans and rights holders will watch closely to see whether streaming plans lead to package changes or new cross-platform deals.
What to watch next
The key dates to follow are the April 23 shareholders vote and the later steps to close the sale. If the acquisition completes, Paramount will assume Warner Bros. Discovery’s AEW stake and begin planning how to combine streaming assets.
For now, the full impact on AEW’s media rights and on where fans watch wrestling and MMA remains uncertain. Negotiations and rights talks next year or in 2028 will be the moments that decide the long-term picture.
