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TNA NEWS: Report - TNA's U.S. TV presence in jeopardy?

May 20, 2015 - 8:57:14 PM
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By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

Impact2015_15.jpg



TNA's flagship Impact show might be off the air in September, according to the Wrestling Observer.

Although "not a definite" move, Destination America has marked Impact for cancellation less than one year into their partnership with TNA.

Dest. America reportedly decided last week not to renew Impact at the end of the third quarter (September), and Destination's TV employees have not been told anything different since the decision was made.

TNA president Dixie Carter was reportedly aware of Dest. America's decision last week, but she did not respond to questions about Impact's future.

The decision came around the same time Dest. America and TNA announced that Impact will move from Fridays to Wednesdays. Similarly, last year, Spike TV shifted Impact from Thursdays to Wednesdays for Impact's final season before being going off the air.

According to the report, the main issues for Dest. America are the cost of the programming, "just okay" ratings not justifying the cost, and a lack of advertising dollars.

TNA is running into the same issue on Spike TV where they appeal to an older audience that leans heavily male, creating a tough sell for a Discovery Channel property.

The demographics through 18 episodes on Friday nights are 51.1-years-old median age of the viewer and a demo split of 74 percent m18-49 and 26 percent f18-49.

The report also notes that the May 8 "semi-live" Impact episode was a deal-breaker for Dest. America. The episode drew 463,000 viewers, down 16 percent from the previous week and the second-lowest combined audience on Friday nights.

If the May 8 episode was the tipping point, it could be viewed as an over-reaction by Dest. America since the episode went head-to-head with the NBA's top star, LeBron James, in a tightly-contested Playoffs game against a big market team, the Chicago Bulls.

The reported decision comes at a time when Dest. America issued a press release this week trumpeting the 2014 Slammiversary PPV airing this week in Impact's Friday timeslot. Also, TNA made a splash by signing Billy Corgan to oversee TV development and storylines.

However, the Billy Corgan news led to TNA being discussed in a negative light on ESPN's popular Pardon the Interruption show. The conversation between two major ESPN voices captured TNA's uphill marketing battle throughout company history.

On the April 28 episode, the following exchange wrapped up the day's news rundown:

Michael Wilbon: "Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins took a full-time job developing talent in TNA Wrestling (whatever that is). Does this make any sense to you?"

Tony Kornheiser: "Yeah, they're not filling arenas for The Smashing Pumpkins anymore. They got no gigs!"

The key to the mainstream conversation was how "TNA Wrestling" was referenced. To people who do not follow pro wrestling closely, "TNA" sounds like a second-rate wrestling outfit based on half-dressed women.

TNA and Dest. America had a chance to re-brand Impact and give the show a completely new identity on a new network to start the year, but opted to stick with "TNA" and "TNA Impact." It appears Dest. America had a tough time selling Impact, whether because of the name, the demographics, or because it's "pro wrestling," and not the recognizable "WWE/F wrestling."


We suggest these recent related articles...
TV RATINGS: TNA Impact & ROH TV viewership - Week 19 on Dest. America - Impact surges post-BFG, ROH draws big audience
TV WRESTLING VIEWERSHIP - Week of Sept. 28: Full Break Down of last week's Pro Wrestling TV with DVR viewing
TNA NEWS: TNA announces TV tapings on January U.K. Tour
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