AEW Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes to Deliver Keynote Address at NATPE 2020 (EXCLUSIVE)
By Joe Otterson
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – All Elite Wrestling’s Brandi Rhodes is set to deliver a keynote address at the annual National Association of Television Program Executives () conference, which will take place in Miami in January.
Rhodes serves as the chief brand officer of AEW in addition to working onscreen as in-ring talent. Her speech is titled “Building a Challenger Brand from the Ground Up: The Rise of .” It will explore how AEW, a new professional wrestling league that began broadcasting weekly live shows on TNT in October, plans to compete in an industry that has been all but monopolized by WWE for decades. The session will also include a Q&A moderated by Tony Schiavone, the well-known broadcaster who currently serves as a commentator and senior producer for AEW.
Rhodes’ speech will take place on Jan. 22 from 3-3:30 p.m. in the Fontaine Ballroom of the Fontainebleau Hotel. It will kick off the Brands x Content programming block.
Rhodes formerly competed as a figure skater before shifting her focus to broadcasting. She began her wrestling career as a ring announcer and has been competing in the ring for the past three years. As chief brand officer of AEW, Rhodes has managed partnerships with local Special Olympics branches as well as Stella’s Wish. Rhodes also spearheaded a partnership with KultureCity that launched during the company’s “Double or Nothing” pay-per-view to create the first sensory inclusive wrestling event in history.
AEW was formed by Cody Rhodes, , brothers Nick and Matt Jackson (who wrestle as the tag team The Young Bucks), and Kenny Omega. All of the aforementioned people serve as AEW executives as well as wrestlers. Other top AEW stars include WWE veteran Chris Jericho, Nyla Rose, and Jon Moxley, who formerly wrestled under the name Dean Ambrose. Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham F.C. executive Tony Khan serves as president and CEO.
The company’s weekly show, “Dynamite,” was TNT’s biggest debut in 5 years , launching with a 0.68 rating in adults 18-49 and 1.4 million viewers. It currently airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
