Following the AEW All Out 2024, Tony Khan participated in a post-show press conference where he shared his positive outlook regarding the expected buy rate of Full Gear and discussed AEW’s shift away from Bleacher Report.
Khan, when queried about the PPV figures for AEW Full Gear 2024, stated that while he doesn’t have the complete data at the moment, he is hopeful that it will outdo WrestleDream 2024.
The podcast had some notable highlights, which can be found below:
Regarding the impact on PPV buys in the absence of Bleacher Report: “For us, the change has been significant. For over five years, beginning with BR/Live and then Bleacher Report, they were our exclusive digital domestic pay-per-view channel for the major part of those years. The substantial transition happened at WrestleDream. Therefore, it was exhilarating to see the WrestleDream purchases, necessitating cable and all of our digital suppliers to really step up. Hence, we were thrilled to achieve a promising number for WrestleDream.
“Tonight is different because Bleacher Report played a crucial role in our projections on the same night. As Warner Brothers Discovery are our business associates, we were able to gather substantial data and formulate projections despite not having access to all the cable and satellite purchases. Currently, cable and satellite have become a larger part of the process, along with all the digital providers like YouTube, Triller, PPV.com, who are picking up more domestic slack. We’re anticipating a lot from these providers. For many years, we directed everything to Bleacher Report, so the great success of WrestleDream made us extremely happy.”
Regarding the numbers for AEW Full Gear: “As for tonight, I can’t definitively say anything as I am yet to receive all the data. However, I’m optimistic and suspect it likely outdid WrestleDream, which will make it a huge success. This is a thrilling period for us. Last year, WrestleDream also had good numbers. It was exhilarating to see good numbers this year without Bleacher Report for the second year of WrestleDream. I believe tonight, Full Gear will perform exceptionally, probably even better than WrestleDream. And then we hope to finish on a high note with World’s End. Next year also looks promising as we’ll be launching a new pay-per-view platform during the year when we transition to Max, which will be exciting for our fans.”