SportsNet Reportedly Negotiated With AEW Prior To TNA Wrestling Deal

As previously reported, TNA Wrestling has a new multi-year partnership with Sportsnet in Canada and will air there starting in 2025. During the latest Wrestling Observer Radio (via Wrestling Inc), Dave Meltzer noted that Sportsnet was originally in talks with AEW before the deal fell through. Instead, AEW will be airing on TSN and Canada’s version of the USA Network.

He said: “[SportsNet] would say they went with TNA, AEW would say they got a better deal to stay with TSN and USA Network, so — USA Network in Canada, not to be confused with USA Network in the United States, even though they have a lot of similar programming — so, that’s what happened there. Right now, the only real — there’s a lot of small stations around the world that WWE’s out of, but the only big one is the India deal, that’s left. But the India deal’s the real big one, actually, the India deal — from a financially standpoint that WWE has on Ten — that deal is the most lucrative television deal in the world other than an American deal.”

Meltzer added that WWE will be leaving their deal with Ten in India soon, which could see AEW or another promotion acquire the spot.