TNA Thread - All AXS - Steve Harvey gets it wrong again.

[Ross 0]

I wonder if vince is scared In case TNA book MSG for impact or ppv

 

They'd be hanging off the rafters.

[Buzz Lightyear 1]

TNA don't advertise Sting and Hogan on house shows though, so maybe that isn't a fair reflection.

 

TNA don't advertise their house shows, period. I mean, they briefly mention them on TV every week and obviously the house show schedule is on the TNA website but outside of that they do almost no advertising for the shows, i.e. they spent no money on advertising house shows. That's one of the reasons why even when they draw weak crowds they still, reportedly, manage to break even on most of the house show loops that they do. Merchandise sells, VIP fan packages, paid in-ring photos with a star and using a small roster for the shows are the other reasons why TNA's house show business is doing alright, financially speaking, and why they still run 100+ house shows every year despite attendance being weak for a lot of those shows.

 

TV is a whole another beast though as it is much more expensive to put on a television taping and thus it's much harder to break even. I recall Dixie saying that running a television taping outside of Orlando cost them about $500,000. And that's for taped shows. The cost of broadcasting live is surely bigger than that. It really makes you wonder how they're going to pull this off. Spike TV footing the bill, perhaps?

It does look that way, and while it's also a great indication of the relationship between Spike and TNA, if this fails then TNA could be in big trouble.

 

Either that or TNA has something else in the pipe line for another show on another network (was hinted by Dixie recently that they hold all the cards now) and the network wants them to tape on the road maybe? The money they get for that could be funding the road shows?

 

Either way they are taking a huge risk, not only financially but in terms of wherever this is successful for the product or not.

[ColinBollocks 1,102]

Spike are happy with TNA's ratings and see the promotion as a valuable part of building the Bellator audience. Even if TNA lose decent coin (which they did for years on Spike TV - mind, TNA are owned by Panda Energy) Spike aren't going to punt the show off their channel. If it fails there are other options.

 

The only way Spike will get rid of TNA is if Spike decide to go in a different direction with their programming.

[garynysmon 589]

A 1.0 rating is very good in American cable terms though.

[IANdrewDiceClay 5,932]

Spike is more likely to get rid of TNA now they have Bellator. They own Bellator, so that has taken over as their priority. If Bellator grows into a viable ratings getter in the next year, then when TNA's deal comes up with Spike they aren't going to have the backdrop of being Spike's main priority when they negotiate.

 

Not to say they will, though. But Spike have been far tighter with the purse strings since they bought Bellator.

[AshC 181]

Just do some more Gut Checks around the country. Sorted!

[ColinBollocks 1,102]

Spike have said in the past that they intend to build both brands, using a lot of inter-promotion stuff. No idea why they would suddenly chuck a solid ratings winner like TNA, when it compliments their channel.

[Buzz Lightyear 1]

Spike is more likely to get rid of TNA now they have Bellator. They own Bellator, so that has taken over as their priority. If Bellator grows into a viable ratings getter in the next year, then when TNA's deal comes up with Spike they aren't going to have the backdrop of being Spike's main priority when they negotiate.

 

Not to say they will, though. But Spike have been far tighter with the purse strings since they bought Bellator.

 

Bellator's rating dropped quiet a lot for the 2nd week (was even out of the top 100) while iMPACT drew roughly the same the previous week. Spike needs the TNA lead-in to help Bellator, not only that the 18-34 demo the last couple of weeks for iMPACT has been really good hitting 0.6's.

Edited February 6, 2013 by Buzz Lightyear

[IANdrewDiceClay 5,932]

Bellator's rating dropped quiet a lot for the 2nd week (was even out of the top 100) while iMPACT drew roughly the same the previous week. Spike needs the TNA lead-in to help Bellator.

Will they need it in a year or 18 months? They've only been on Spike for a few weeks. They aren't even established and haven't developed their own fanbase on the channel who know the time its on. When TNA first got on Spike it was doing around the same as Bellator.

 

Spike have said in the past that they intend to build both brands, using a lot of inter-promotion stuff. No idea why they would suddenly chuck a solid ratings winner like TNA, when it compliments their channel.

Maybe they want to own their own wrestling federation, like many have speculated for years. A one that isn't called "TNA" and has that negative stigma throughout the wrestling fanbase. Why pump millions into TNA when they can just set up or buy their own promotion like they have done with Bellator.

 

Actually if they chucked TNA off Spike, they could probably just buy what is left of TNA and its wrestlers.

Edited February 6, 2013 by IANdrewDiceClay

[ColinBollocks 1,102]

Spike may look at it differently. Maybe they see the potential of having two strong brands on their network, both doing well in the demos they crave.

 

Mostly speculation, mind.

 

EDIT (just saw your edit): There was talk Hogoff were looking to do the dirty on TNA and start a new company with Spike. So who knows. Right now, I'd be amazed if they cancelled Impact, or maybe more accurately 'wrestling'.

Edited February 6, 2013 by Blackson Jackson

[Buzz Lightyear 1]

Bellator's rating dropped quiet a lot for the 2nd week (was even out of the top 100) while iMPACT drew roughly the same the previous week. Spike needs the TNA lead-in to help Bellator.

Will they need it in a year or 18 months? They've only been on Spike for a few weeks. They aren't even established and haven't developed their own fanbase on the channel who know the time its on. When TNA first got on Spike it was doing around the same as Bellator.

 

Spike have said in the past that they intend to build both brands, using a lot of inter-promotion stuff. No idea why they would suddenly chuck a solid ratings winner like TNA, when it compliments their channel.

Maybe they want to own their own wrestling federation, like many have speculated for years.

 

Nah, iMPACT was hitting 0.8's for the first year in a much much tougher timeslot with no lead in. iMPACT has never dropped out of the Top 100 though.

 

Obviously things can change, but Spike will continue because it's relatively cheap and delivers respectable ratings. They do give TNA a lot of additional funding though, and if they continue to under achieve whilst Bellator get stronger then they could be in trouble.

[Loki 1,819]

Bellator's rating dropped quiet a lot for the 2nd week (was even out of the top 100) while iMPACT drew roughly the same the previous week. Spike needs the TNA lead-in to help Bellator.

Will they need it in a year or 18 months? They've only been on Spike for a few weeks. They aren't even established and haven't developed their own fanbase on the channel who know the time its on. When TNA first got on Spike it was doing around the same as Bellator.

 

Spike have said in the past that they intend to build both brands, using a lot of inter-promotion stuff. No idea why they would suddenly chuck a solid ratings winner like TNA, when it compliments their channel.

Maybe they want to own their own wrestling federation, like many have speculated for years. A one that isn't called "TNA" and has that negative stigma throughout the wrestling fanbase. Why pump millions into TNA when they can just set up or buy their own promotion like they have done with Bellator.

 

Actually if they chucked TNA off Spike, they could probably just buy what is left of TNA and its wrestlers.

 

I've not read or seen any indication that Spike see TNA as anything other than their most valued show, to be honest. TNA was their replacement WWE, so if they'd ever wanted to have done something themselves they'd have done it after dropping Smackdown. What TV exec wants to run a wrestling company post-WCW? Madness.

 

TNA gets really solid ratings. Sometimes as high as 1.5 which is really great. And TNA attracts a crucial demographic for Spike as well.

 

Spike are more likely to throw more money into TNA than ever drop it I reckon. Bear in mind Bellator is their attempt to stick it to UFC after being dumped in favour of Fox. COmpared to MMA, the stars and fortunes of TNA are mega-stable.

[IANdrewDiceClay 5,932]

Viacom owns shares in Bellator, so by default its Spike's most valued show on the network because they own part of it. TNA's ratings suffered a lot when they got bumped from the 9pm slot to become Bellators lead in. That first hour from 8-9pm usually got murdered. I'm sure TNA is still a high priority, but investment and interest isn't what is was in 2008, 2009 or 2010. There is no money to bring in any new names anymore. They didn't bring Chris Masters in because they can't afford to give him anything other than a shite Luke Gallows deal where he's getting paid a indy worker level deal. In 2008, Spike would have helped TNA bring in the likes of John Morrison and MVP and Harry Smith.

 

What TV exec wants to run a wrestling company post-WCW? Madness.

Spike might eventually. They own their own MMA promotion and looking at how TNA handled the King Mo thing (where they treated it as a joke), they might want a more hands on approach and be in full control on cross promotion when it comes to these things. If TNA owned their own wrestling promotion they have a ready time slot which wrestling fans watch on Thursdays. All they'd do is put Spike's wrestling show in place of Impact and promote it (which they would do since they owned it).

Edited February 6, 2013 by IANdrewDiceClay

[Loki 1,819]

Do you think Bellator is going to work though? As a non-fan, I can't help but notice that besides UFC, most MMA promotions have the life-span of a Samoa Joe push. They may part-own Bellator, but they don't own and run it, like WCW, do they?

 

When Hogan heads back to the WWE for a legends contract, TNA will be able to afford all the Chris Masters and John Morrisons they want, I'm sure Spike will help them out a bit.

 

I'll tell you something, Ian, in looking for some info on Spike's TNA ratings, I came across endless articles by internet wrestling journos predicting the imminent collapse of the TNA/Spike relationship, from every year since 2006. I'm not saying it definitely won't happen, but honestly, I don't think it will.

 

I'm impressed on your in-depth knowledge of Luke Gallows' TNA deal though. You should write for the Observer!

[IANdrewDiceClay 5,932]

I never said it would happen either. I'm saying Spike aren't investing money in TNA like they were when they first got on Spike. They've learned the ratings are going to stay in the 1.0-1.2 range whether they bring in Hulk Hogan or Christian York. All I know about Bellator is Viacom owns it and Impact got bumped into a worse time slot because of it.

 

As far as Luke Gallows goes, Nigel McGuinness had to work at a Deli when he was under contract to TNA, so fuck knows what the rest of the mid-to-lower card wrestlers are on.