Impact wrestling thread - It's a Don West tribute thread now!

[tiger_rick]

 

Ironically, TNA would probably be financially better off without the TV deal anyway. The costs of doing those tapings and all the logistics that go into putting them together must run into the millions each month.

 

I'm not saying this would make them money, but being a glorified All-Star fed running house shows in America with Angle and Jeff Hardy on the posters wouldn't see them losing so much money as they do now.

The sole focus of a pro wrestling company seems to be that they HAVE to have a television deal. Somebody needs to do a high-quality promotion where all the content and programming is broadcast online (pretty much what the Network's now doing but have all content done online through various YouTube channels etc.) The costs would be minimal and you could use every last viral marketing technique in the book to spread your name.

TNA struggles to get 500 people to a house show. TV is the only revenue they have.

 

Someone hasn't seen the pictures from the Baseball stadium.

[Undefeated Steak]

Pitcos - It's times like this when I wish Russo would email TNA's bank statements to the wrong person. It wouldn't surprise me if they make no money directly from their Spike TV deal, once production costs and extra staff and everything else is taken into account. They've tried getting into the international television markets for years now. TNA are a notoriously short sighted company and I can't imagine them doing that if their domestic TV deals were sound enough in the first place.

 

Edit - I'm writing this on my phone so haven't explained it quite as well as I would have liked. I hope you get my point.

Edited July 28, 2014 by Undefeated Steak

[AshC]

What do you think are the chances of them significantly cutting cloth (and almost all the US talent), hiring a load of the new British Bootcamp guys on some kind of TV-exclusivity contract that lets them work the indys and trying to run from over here? From what I gather, Borash has a base here, you have these existing Brit guys like Magnus and Spud and you have a pretty cushty TV deal. I imagine the wheels are in motion already tbh.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Without TV in this era, you're dead. The PPV industry is fucked and live attendance isn't what it was, but people will watch if you are on TV. And without TV, you're not in business. TNA got an estimated $10-12 million a year from Spike. If they paid the $25,000 rent at the Impact Zone and used a small cast of decent workers, TNA could have been profitable for sure. But they didn't. They over spent for years on things that weren't going to work with the stategy they implimented. Adding to that, during a negotiation period with Spike they booked a man on woman violence angle and lied about bringing back Russo. How can you do business with these people?

 

They are going to have to find a new network in the next 8 weeks. If not (and odds are they wont, because surely they'd have found someone to at least negotiate by now) they'll be out of business. Spike kept them alive for a decade. Without them, they are fucked.

Edited July 28, 2014 by IANdrewDiceClay

[tiger_rick]

Pitcos - It's times like this when I wish Russo would email TNA's bank statements to the wrong person. It wouldn't surprise me if they make no money directly from their Spike TV deal, once production costs and extra staff and everything else is taken into account. They've tried getting into the international television markets for years now. TNA are a notoriously short sighted company and I can't imagine them doing that if their domestic TV deals were sound enough in the first place.

 

Edit - I'm writing this on my phone so haven't explained it quite as well as I would have liked. I hope you get my point.

 

They've done well down the years with foreign TV deals. Aside from the odd deal for figures and video games and Spike footing the bill for soem expansion costs, that's their only revenue stream. They aren't making money at the gates or from selling a ton of PPV's.

[tiger_rick]

Who if anyone will WWE want to pick up from TNA? Bobby Roode maybe? Angle? Joe? Magnus?

 

Probably not a great time for WWE to be acquiring talent. Pity because under other circumstances I'd like to see what they could do with Roode, Storm, Bully, Joe and Gunner. I reckon EC3 would be a good pick-up too with his TNA experience under his belt.

 

In an ideal world they make these cheap signings from TNA and sack a load of shit to make way. Truth, Del Rio, Van Dam, Rose, Sandow, Matadors, Fandango, etc. Even Misterio if he's not dead.

[Undefeated Steak]

I really wish I was at my computer so again you'll have to excuse the brief post. I don't think TV has to be the be all and end all now. An 8 million dollar revenue stream from TV for a live event production company like that isn't all that great. What it costs to produce one episode will be massive. TV advertising is paying less now than it has in years and it's even worse for wrestling companies, as has already been mentioned in this thread. If television was such a necessity for them now WWE wouldn't have gambled so much on attempting to get into the online broadcasting game.

 

I may be well of the mark here so I can see where Ian and King Pitcos are coming from, but I really don't think losing a TV deal with Spike has to be the final bullet for them. While I'm here il also say that I think TNA as a company has been a joke for the past few years and, aside from keeping some talented wrestlers in employment, have been good for nothing.

[garynysmon]

Instead, ratings are still in the same area that they've been since 2006. Spike gave them two hours, helped them sign Hogan, Bischoff, etc and moved them to Mondays, all of which were supposed to "take them to the next level" and all failed miserably. Spike have obviously identified Russo as a reason for this and asked Dixie to keep him away, and she flat out lied to them about it.

 

It's a real shame but what on earth was Dixie expecting?

 

 

Can't argue with any of that to be honest. Its a shame for Professional Wrestling but there you go, Dixie Carter made her own bed.

[Ant]

The could forecast quadrupling their ratings in the next 6 months; if I was Spike it wouldn't matter if they've outright lied/contravened an agreement, verbal or otherwise.

 

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

[tiger_rick]

I really wish I was at my computer so again you'll have to excuse the brief post. I don't think TV has to be the be all and end all now. An 8 million dollar revenue stream from TV for a live event production company like that isn't all that great. What it costs to produce one episode will be massive. TV advertising is paying less now than it has in years and it's even worse for wrestling companies, as has already been mentioned in this thread. If television was such a necessity for them now WWE wouldn't have gambled so much on attempting to get into the online broadcasting game.

 

WWE has decades of history behind them and an army of pretty loyal fans and I'd still be utterly astounded (and worried) if they ever gave up being on TV to pursue the network whole hog.

 

I don't think your point about TV not being the be all and end all is wrong. ROH survived for years with a TV-less model. In this case though, it's not applicable. TNA don't have a fanbase that would support them in live events. They've neglected live business down the years to chase TV money. Now they have large costs, contracts and debts. They can't easily switch into a low budget independent.

[Undefeated Steak]

Yeah, reading back I see I've come across as saying 'TNA will be a success without Spike' which isn't what I was trying to get at.

[bono]

Would hardy ever get back in the wwe?or wouldnt they touch him with a barge pole now

[MungoChutney]

 

 

Ironically, TNA would probably be financially better off without the TV deal anyway. The costs of doing those tapings and all the logistics that go into putting them together must run into the millions each month.

 

I'm not saying this would make them money, but being a glorified All-Star fed running house shows in America with Angle and Jeff Hardy on the posters wouldn't see them losing so much money as they do now.

The sole focus of a pro wrestling company seems to be that they HAVE to have a television deal. Somebody needs to do a high-quality promotion where all the content and programming is broadcast online (pretty much what the Network's now doing but have all content done online through various YouTube channels etc.) The costs would be minimal and you could use every last viral marketing technique in the book to spread your name.

TNA struggles to get 500 people to a house show. TV is the only revenue they have.

 

Someone hasn't seen the pictures from the Baseball stadium.

 

That was a bought in show though so it the blame for that one lies witht he promoters of the event, not TNA.

[King Pitcos]

I really wish I was at my computer so again you'll have to excuse the brief post. I don't think TV has to be the be all and end all now. An 8 million dollar revenue stream from TV for a live event production company like that isn't all that great. What it costs to produce one episode will be massive. TV advertising is paying less now than it has in years and it's even worse for wrestling companies, as has already been mentioned in this thread. If television was such a necessity for them now WWE wouldn't have gambled so much on attempting to get into the online broadcasting game.

 

 

You're mistaken. The WWE network is WWE's attempt at getting around the dying pay-per-view business. Their new TV deal was to be as big or bigger for the company, and was seen as a safeguard in case the network flopped. As it happened, the TV deal flopped as well, which killed the stock prices and has them being subject of a class action lawsuit for mis-selling shares. TV is indeed be-all and end-all for a major wrestling company, and as several have said now, it's TNA's only revenue stream. They are incapable of selling tickets to live shows, they are incapable of selling pay-per-views. If they suddenly got a clue about marketing live events, it'd be good, but it'd be too late. I don't know how their merchandise does, but it'll do fuck all without a TV show. Very few people are googling for t-shirts of wrestlers they've never heard of or watched. Spike is the only thing that has kept TNA afloat for years.

Edited July 28, 2014 by King Pitcos

[freaky]

Who if anyone will WWE want to pick up from TNA? Bobby Roode maybe? Angle? Joe? Magnus?

Honestly, I can't see them picking up any of them - they've got the stink of TNA attached to them, and WWE have hardly been falling over themselves to sign people like AJ Styles who may actually shift some tickets.

 

Besides, WWE has just signed KENTA and Fergal Devitt.  Who would swap them for anyone who's in TNA?