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If WBD wanted to give AEW a record rights renewal, they would not have aired Black Panther on Juneteenth on TBS as the lead-in for Dynamite, they would have aired it on TNT and kept the Big Bang Theory in place to ensure continuity in the TV ratings and to avoid a full-week negative media cycle.
WBD knew what they were doing, they have access to per-minute subscriber data with full demographics. They know what AEW's tune-in audience is and what their fell-asleep-on-the-couch audience is. And they chose to humiliate AEW while balls deep in contract negotiations, knowing they can always point to the national holiday as a reason for "honoring" Black culture with a showing of an award-winning film - and that Tony Khan would look like a massive bigot if he complained about losing a White-dominated sitcom as his lead in for one (1) single night.
This is not the kind of move you make when you are preparing to give AEW a record-breaking extension to establish them as the predominant (and profitable) challenger brand to WWE. This is the move you make when you want to convince WBD investors that you were right in letting them walk after your low-ball offer was rejected.
