AEW must avoid the lure of expanding Dynamite to three hours

Dynamite is AEW's flagship show. It consistently brings in the highest TV ratings. It often has the best matches and strongest storytelling, and it's the most recognizable of AEW's brands. 

In a recent interview with Shakiel Mahjouri of CBS Sports, AEW owner Tony Khan admitted that he could be tempted to expand Dynamite's run time to three hours if the opportunity arises.

"I love being able to do more follow-up with things that happened earlier in the night with more time," Khan said (h/t Fightful). "Being able to cover more wrestlers and tell more stories, utilize more of the roster. I think it gives more opportunities when we have that three-hour block...Is five hours the best? Should we do six? I want to do at least five now. I've tasted blood and want more so I could easily be sold on doing more than five hours of programming."

On paper, extending the best-performing show for an additional hour makes sense. If AEW can maintain its viewership and continue to provide exceptional in-ring production, the additional air time could work wonders for its roster management. 

Nevertheless, tinkering with a proven system is risky. WWE often struggles to fill the middle of RAW, making the second hour of the show sluggish and slow-paced. It's harder for casual fans to consume in one sitting. Unless you're looking to beef up the storyline aspects with promos and vignettes, then an extra hour of actual wrestling could be overkill.

While AEW's in-ring production is unmatched in the American market, it's not enough to keep drawing new fans or keeping the more casual viewer engaged for three hours. Khan would have to make some compromises. Whether he would be willing to do that after building the company on the back of being an alternative remains to be seen.

It would also be wise for AEW to get its other shows trending in the right direction before adding more TV time. Collision is slowly trending upward, yet there's still a lot of room for improvement. Increasing Dynamite's run time before solidifying Collision's hold on Saturday nights would be an ambitious move. AEW could find itself being spread too thin due to being overly ambitious. 

Right now, things are starting to trend in the right direction. It would appear Khan has implemented strategies to help overcome the struggling ticket sales for live events. The TV numbers are improving, despite it being a tough time in the calendar due to other sporting events. Plus, some of the top stars on the roster are returning from injury.

Eventually, adding another hour to Dynamite will be a wise move. That time isn't in the near future, though. There's still a lot of work to be done elsewhere before adding more production into the mix.