On November 19th, TNA announced a new TV deal with POP TV to begin in January 2016 with their time with Destination America coming to an end. While the company itself treated this as the greatest thing since slice bread, is the deal actually that big of a deal for the wrestling promotion? If so, then to what extent will it affect TNA’s fortunes? Will it be the turning point they badly need?
To say that 2015 has been a tremendous year for TNA is just not true. Many long-time employees of TNA left the company and some of them have gone on to even greater things. There’s been a number of photos of bad crowd attendances for TNA during house shows and even for TNA Impact tapings that have surfaced on social media. The competition on Wednesday nights from the likes of NXT and ROH also hasn’t helped the show’s viewership numbers. To top it all off, the news broke by Dave Meltzer earlier on in the year that Destination America weren’t renewing TNA’s TV deal with them was another huge blow as television deals were crucial to the promotion’s survival. A few of these negatives that have happened this year have been out of TNA’s hands. However, to say that TNA is absolved from any blame for this is also just not true.
Those writing and running the product have made a lot of questionable decisions for storylines which hardly got the result that they were hoping for. The TNA/GFW storyline was very under-whelming considering how “big” the stakes were, the TNA World Heavyweight Championship was vacated a few days after Matt Hardy won the title at Bound For Glory and TNA ran an angle where Mickie James was given the House of Cards treatment when James Storm nudged her onto a train track. Yes, that last one was actually a major wrestling storyline this year.
The point is, TNA’s decisions and a number of outside forces had lead to a situation where it seemed that the company was close to being done. That was until the announcement came that TNA had clinched a new TV deal with POP TV to begin at the start of the year which does give them a lifeline. How strong of a lifeline that is will be down to one factor… the company itself.
The television deal any wrestling promotion has will have a huge impact on the financial side of things. Like WWE, the product is heavily dependent on the ratings to succeed. According to Variety, the WWE earned more than $300 million total in TV licensing fees between 2012 and 2013. That tells you something. For WWE, RAW’s ratings heavily affect their ability to succeed with the WWE Network and other outside projects. If not enough people are watching their flagship show, not enough people will be willing to subscribe to the network WWE have created. The RAW viewership numbers hitting new record lows last week will be driving the powers-that-be up the wall.
Now obviously, TNA does not have to fund a TNA Network or anything crazy like that. However, the TV deal will have a huge effect on the contracts of the workers. If a number of wrestling reports are to be believed, TNA is currently having a hard time even pay their own wrestlers so it does have a huge effect. With no wrestlers, there are no shows. TNA have just cancelled a heavily promoted tour in India and rumours are suggesting that money played a big part in that decision too. The fact that a TV deal has now been sealed though will at least make things a hell of a lot better than if they were to be left without a contract. If TNA are still cancelling tours than obviously it’s not that big of a money deal but it should help steady the boat in the next few months.
POP TV being Impact Wrestling’s new home is an interesting choice as it’s being done with a network that was re-branded this year. It’s almost like fresh start for the network as they changed it’s name and it’s outlook. For TNA, it’s also their opportunity to do the same and really have a think about where the company is headed. Having the TV deal is all well and dandy but it doesn’t matter at all unless TNA battles the one enemy that has hurt their attempts to break out as one of the world’s top wrestling promotions… TNA.
I’m sure sure not how everybody feels about existentialism, however in TNA’s case it’s vital for it’s future. Most of the problems that were mentioned earlier where down to the people running the company. There have been many decisions that have come back to bite TNA in the derrière. To hide away from the issues internally and focus on smaller details could have grave consequences for a company that wants to thrive and prosper. TNA releasing press releases every week about upcoming tours and Dixie Carter’s approach to social media and promotion has done very little to help the image of the company.
What I’ve been taught as a former student of Media (in College) and Journalism (in University) is that people don’t like it when you try to dodge the big issues. If people tweeted my wrestling blog (@ArmbarExpress) for example, I would find a way to make sure I address those comments whether they are positive or negative. Maybe I can turn those negatives into playful conversations or gain helpful feedback that can vastly improve my content (if anyone does want provide feedback by the way, feel free to do so)! That’s what you do to maintain a popular image. TNA has an inability to do this.
Believe me, I don’t want this to come off as an anti-TNA tirade. TNA’s actually a wrestling promotion that I have been a fan of for years since it was first shown in the UK on the Fight Network. This isn’t a tirade, this is a battle cry. A rally if you will for those in TNA that have been given this POP TV which does help them out. It does not make things plain sailing for the next few years and the company needs to realise that. What this deal gives them is time. Time to have a realistic look at it’s finances. Time to have a realistic look at the talent. Time to have a realistic look at it’s product for the next few months. More importantly, it gives them time to prevent the issues that have helped its decline. If cuts need to be made, so be it. If tough decisions need to be made, so be it. If TNA want to stay on the air a year from now, something’s got to give.
Recent Comments