In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Tony Khan talked about AEW’s pay-per-view model and ticket prices.
With the company airing their PPV events on HBO Max at a discounted rate since All Out, Khan was asked if AEW will ever include their events for free as a benefit of a service’s cost for subscription:
I’m not sure. It’s a good question. I think with AEW, something I’ve been really conscious of and tried to stay consistent with is maintaining great prices for families or friends to come and watch the shows at an affordable price. The pay-per-view price for AEW has been consistent since day one, it’s the same price it’s always been to order the pay-per-views.
On the topic of pricing, the AEW President was asked if he pays attention to WWE’s pricing and fan feedback, which has notably been sour on increasingly expensive tickets to attend live events.
I’m cognizant of what people are saying and their pricing. I think the AEW pricing, which is lower, and WWE shows are more expensive for the fans. We have different models when it comes to the distribution. I think that what we do is very good and it’s been working for us. From the very beginning of AEW, whether it was the beginning calls before we had done a live event, we talked about how I always wanted there to be tickets in that range of $20 to $30 for fans to be able to get into the TV shows every week and that would be a consistent theme in AEW.
There still is inexpensive ticketing, and the get-in price is usually pretty fair compared to the competition. It’s always lower. The ringside seats are more expensive than the highest tier, but they’re still more affordable than our competition, and they always have been, and I hope they always will be. I’ll try to keep that affordable pricing. That’s something I care about, making sure that families and friends can go to the show.
Elsewhere in the interview, which can be viewed below beginning at the 1:22:00 time stamp, Khan addressed criticism from CM Punk after the latter’s departure from AEW, WWE collaborating with TNA, and much more.