TNA on Dest. America Viewership – Final Stats on 2015 run

TNA and Destination America’s run lasted one year. Things started off okay on Friday nights when TNA drew 550,000 combined viewers, which was proportional to Spike TV’s available homes.

However, when Impact was shifted to Wednesday nights mid-year, they lost one-third of the audience.

After a year of headbutting, the relationship could not have ended soon enough for both parties. In fact, Pop TV is picking up the final two TNA shows of the year.

Kurt Angle, who says he is retiring from TNA in January, says he hopes there is a lesson to be more cautious about the relationship with Pop than TNA was with Dest. America.

“Both sides want to do really well. They are excited. Jumping in is exciting, but we’ve done this before. Maybe this time let’s not get too excited until we know we found the right home. I think it should be not so much hands and feet all-in, but slowly tread along with them and hopefully build something special,” Angle told Scott Fishman for Channel Guide Magazine.

Final TNA on Dest. America 2015 Scoresheet

– From January 16 to May 29 on Friday nights, Impact averaged…

• 406,450 first-run viewers
• 140,750 West Coast/replay viewers
• 550,000 total combined viewers

– From June 3 to December 9 on Wednesday nights, which included 26 weeks paired with ROH TV, Impact averaged…

• 291,071 first-run viewers (28% decline)
• 82,655 West Coast/replay viewers – an hour later after the ROH episode (42% decline)
• 371,143 total combined viewers (33% decline)

Perhaps the most interesting stat is the combined number of TNA viewers on Friday nights compared to the combined wrestling audience on Wednesday nights.

• 550,000: Average of TNA’s combined live & replay/WC audience on Fridays (Jan. 16-May 29)
• 559,885: Average of the combined audience of ROH TV, Impact, and replays on Wednesday nights (June 3-Dec. 9)

Individual Show Stats

– Most-watched Friday Impact: 691,000 total viewers on February 2 for a Lockdown special

– Least-watched Friday Impact: 414,000 total viewers on March 13, which is when Dest. America started to sour on TNA three months into the working relationship.

– Most-watched Wed. Impact: 451,000 total viewers on June 24, four weeks into the Wednesday night run. The closest TNA got to that high point the rest of the year was 447,000 viewers on October 7 following Bound for Glory.

– Least-watched Wed. Impact: 280,000 total viewers on November 18 when the writing was on the wall for TNA and Dest. America parting ways.

Individual Demographic Stats

– Average median age on Friday nights: 51.3-years old

– Average median age on Wednesday nights: 52.4-years old

– Demographic split on Friday nights: 74 percent males 18-49 and 26 percent females 18-49

– Demographic split on Wednesday nights: 77 percent males 18-49 and 23 percent females 18-49

When TNA shifted to Wednesday nights mid-year, the audience grew older and Impact drew a narrower audience. TNA will have to reverse the trend on Pop TV, which currently skews toward female viewers within the 18-49 demographic.