AEW’s TV Future Still in Limbo After Paramount Fires Back with Upgraded $30-Per-Share Offer for WBD

Just days after Warner Bros. Discovery publicly rejected Paramount’s buyout attempt, the media war escalated—and AEW might end up as collateral damage.

On December 22, 2025, Paramount Skydance came back swinging, formally amending its $30-per-share all-cash offer for WBD in a high-stakes move to address every concern laid out by WBD’s board. That includes something WBD claimed was non-negotiable: a personal financial guarantee from Larry Ellison himself.

Paramount issued a press release announcing that Ellison, founder of Oracle and controlling shareholder of Paramount, had personally stepped in to solidify the deal:

“Larry Ellison has agreed to provide an irrevocable personal guarantee of $40.4 billion of the equity financing for the offer and any damages claims against Paramount.”

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That’s on top of a new promise that he won’t revoke or transfer the Ellison family trust—which currently holds over 1.16 billion shares of Oracle stock—and an increased regulatory termination fee of $5.8 billion. Paramount is clearly trying to put WBD on blast for ignoring what it still insists is the better offer, stating:

“Because of our commitment to investment and growth, our acquisition will be superior for all WBD stakeholders, as a catalyst for greater content production, greater theatrical output, and more consumer choice.”

This development comes after WBD’s Board labeled the Netflix deal a “superior, more certain value” and claimed the Paramount offer was too risky and poorly structured. Paramount isn’t letting that narrative stick and is now encouraging WBD shareholders to pressure the board directly via www.StrongerHollywood.com.

So where does AEW fit into this corporate tug-of-war? If Netflix ends up absorbing HBO Max and WBD’s studio operations, while a restructured Paramount gets TNT and TBS, AEW could be left without a stable broadcast or streaming home. And with WWE already on Netflix, the door may be closed there too.

AEW’s current deal with WBD is set to expire in 2026—and unless Tony Khan finds a secure media partner soon, his promotion could be caught in a merger storm that mirrors ECW’s infamous TV collapse.

Do you think Paramount’s updated offer is enough to shift the balance and save AEW’s home network? Or is the Netflix-WBD merger already too far gone? Let us know what you think in the comments below.