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TNA News
TNA Impact Ratings: Largest audience since February, Knockouts deliver in main event (w/Keller Analysis) Aug 4, 2008 - 12:31:57 PM
TNA Impact took another upward tick in viewership last Thursday with a 1.1 overall rating and 1.6 million viewers on average during the show. The rating is actually 0.01 lower than the previous week, but statistically insignificant given the margin of error. It's up from the 1.05 and 1.02 of the previous two weeks.
The story of the show is that the Knockouts were given the main event final quarter hour slot for the first time and they delivered with a show-high 1.18 rating. Only Q4 came close with a 1.16 rating for the Booker T-Samoa Joe in-ring segment and the A.J. Styles promo that followed it, plus a Beautiful People promo with Shark Boy and Curry Man.
Keller's Analysis: With the July 24 show being stronger than average and most agreeing the July 31 show last Thursday being a display of some of TNA's weaker and more frustrating tendencies, it'll be a test to see if next week's rating drops due to there being a turn-off factor with this show. There's such small audience level variation from week to week with Impact, though, that it's tough to get too hung up on these really small movements in numbers week to week. The quarter hour ratings, though, once again show what PWTorch readers and writers have touted for years - which is that a seriously portrayed, deep women's division with a variety of characters but a centerpiece title that is treated as a serious prize could draw ratings. Awesome Kong being kept off TV for a while can be seen as a test of whether Kong or the division itself was drawing the ratings. With or without Kong, the Knockouts division is drawing, but TNA management should not discriminate against the women in the division when it comes to pay and not assume that the Knockouts are all interchangeable, or else WWE can (and should) go after everyone in TNA's division and try to steal their thunder. WWE has taken notice by adding another women's belt on Smackdown, and they'd love to acquire ODB, Kong, the Beautiful People, etc. to strengthen their division.
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