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TNA News
TNA Impact Ratings: Viewers send TNA management strong signals again - we want to like TNA, but we have issues Apr 11, 2008 - 5:12:15 PM
TNA Impact last night drew a 1.00 rating, down from last week's 1.12. It also marks another week where Impact dropped between Q1 and Q2 from a 1.01 to a 0.93. Impact also drew a boost in viewership at the start of the second hour - jumping from a 0.99 at the end of hour one to a 1.10 at the start of hour two, but then dropped consistently throughout the second hour.
How does Impact compare to The Ultimate Fighter on Wednesday night, for instance? Do ratings always drop from Q1 to Q2 and beyond? No. The Ultimate Fighter the night before drew a 1.02 Q1 rating, then grew to a 1.17 in Q2, 1.17 in Q3, and 1.27 in Q4.
KELLER'S ANALYSIS This pattern is really alarming and should be of concern to Dixie Carter and Jeff Jarrett. Week after week after week, viewers are saying to them loud and clear: "We want to like your show and we tune in full of hope each week, but 10 percent of us are driven away in the opening 15 minutes." Sometimes it's more than 10 percent. There is zero excuse for a show to build to a main event the caliber of Kevin Nash & Sting vs. Team 3D and see the rating drop from a 1.02 to a 0.97 in the final 45 minutes of the show. This is not a talent issue, it's a booking issue. People are uncomfortable watching a show that is booked the way it's booked and produced and paced the way it's produced and paced. To have each hour start off with a strong number and drop from then on is a loud signal as clear as any company can get that something needs to be tweaked or overhauled because people who want to like the product can't stand it within 15 minutes. What are the other 90 percent thinking? Some like it, but how many are just "tolerating it" and how many would be convinced to buy the PPV if they bought into the show more than they do now? I don't know any other way to read these numbers, but if anyone has a theory, I'm interested.
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