By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

TNA Impact on Thursday, September 27 officially scored a 0.99 rating off a first hour 0.95 rating and second hour 1.03 rating.

Impact continues to be hurt by a weak start in the new first hour. But, the first hour did have the second-highest quarter-hour rating of the show for this week's Knockouts segment.

The trend was a poor 0.88 rating in Q1, a jump to a 1.05 rating in Q3, a peak rating of 1.10 in Q5 to start the second hour, and a drop-off in the final 45 minutes with a 1.03 rating in Q6 and 1.00 ratings in the final half-hour.

First Hour Break Down

Q1: For the fourth consecutive week, Impact opened below a 0.9 rating with a 0.88 rating this week. The segment featured Hulk Hogan setting the stage for the show, Sting's unadvertised return after a few weeks off TV, and one commercial. (Rating Comparison - even with Q1 average during live summer run.)

Q2: Impact increased slightly to a 0.93 rating for Daniels vs. Kurt Angle vs. Chavo Guerrero, one mid-match commercial, and Hogan backstage with the TV Title contenders. (up 2.3% vs. Q2 average during live summer run.)

Q3: Impact jumped to a 1.05 rating for this week's Knockouts segment featuring Tara vs. ODB. There was one commercial. (up 12.0% vs. Q3 average during live summer run.)

Q4: Impact dropped to a 0.92 rating for the Gut Check deliberations focused on the Gut Check judges discussing Evan Markopoulos. There were also two commercial breaks affecting the rating. (down 0.6% vs. Q4 average during live summer run.)

Second Hour Break Down

Q5: Impact peaked with a 1.10 rating for the Samoa Joe vs. Mr. Anderson match to determine a new TV champion. This was followed by a Hogan & Sting backstage segment, plus one commercial. The rating was the highest Q5 rating since the end of August. (up 2.6% vs. Q5 average during live summer run.) (Last 5 Weeks - 1.11 rating, 1.06 rating, 1.07 rating, 1.09 rating, and 1.10 rating this week.)

Q6: Impact began a second-hour decline with a 1.03 rating for the Gut Check in-ring result, one commercial, and the first-half of an Aces & Eights skit in their "Clubhouse." (down 0.9% vs. Q6 average during live summer run.)

Q7: Impact slipped to a 1.00 rating for the second-half of the Hogan & Sting segment in the Aces & Eights Clubhouse, one commercial, James Storm backstage discussing King Mo's arrival in TNA, and ring introductions for the unhyped TV main event. (down 3.6% vs. Q7 average during live summer run.)

Q8: Impact stayed the same with a 1.00 rating for Austin Aries & Jeff Hardy vs. Bully Ray & Bobby Roode, one mid-match commercial, and a final backstage skit with Hogan & Sting to conclude the show. (down 7.6% vs. Q8 average during live summer run.)

Caldwell's Analysis: Another inefficient week for TNA. They did not maximize their main event by waiting until the second hour of the show to announce it (rather than announce it in advance), and the audience seems to recognize that the TNA Title picture is secondary based on how much time and attention is given to Aces & Eights, which again failed to move the needle despite TNA investing five months in this storyline. The numbers continue to indicate that the Aces & Eights storyline has not connected with viewers to make a difference in ratings, especially when you consider the top item advertised in-advance was Hogan visiting the A&E Clubhouse.

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