Source: Adam Testa of The Wrestling Daily
The arrival of legendary performer Hulk Hogan in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and subsequent creative decisions have received mixed reactions from the promotion’s loyal fanbase and the Internet Wrestling Community, but for SpikeTV, the move has already yielded significant, positive results.
On Jan. 4, the company went head to head with industry monolith World Wrestling Entertainment and presented a special live, three-hour show rivaling an episode of Monday Night Raw featuring the return Bret Hart to a WWE ring. That show scored a record-setting 1.5 Nielsen rating.
For the next two weeks, TNA’s weekly Impact broadcast scored above-average ratings of 1.3 in its normal primetime Thursday slot. On Jan. 28, the company broke another record by earning a 1.4 rating, making it the highest rated Thursday night show in the company’s history.
“Ever since Hulk Hogan came into the mix, there’s really been a nice shift in energy, and we can really see that in the ratings and the interest and the buzz,” said David Schwarz, vice president of communications for Spike, which airs Impact. “It’s all pointed upwards, and it’s all good.”
Coming off the heels of the historic Jan. 4 show, rumors, reports and speculation began circulating that the company already had plans to make a permanent move to Monday nights and to begin broadcasting live on a weekly basis.
Schwarz could neither confirm nor deny the speculation, but he said TNA President Dixie Carter has committed her team to continuing to grow and improve the product. Officials with both TNA and Spike remain positive about the goal and are exploring potential plans for the future.
“The live show worked, and the network and TNA are investigating doing more such shows,” he said. “There are a lot of things I know they’re looking at seeing what happens.”
Since the partnership between TNA and Spike began in 2005, Impact has seen steady growth in ratings, two changes in timeslot, and an expansion from a one-hour show to two hours each week.
Last month, TNA also showcased the U.S. debut of Epics, a monthly series highlighting matches and competitors of the past. The second episode, featuring “The Icon” Sting, premieres at 11 p.m. EST Thursday on Spike.
“It’s a great relationship. We’ve grown with TNA across the board, and it’s a really good time for both,” Schwarz said. “From where they were at a few years ago, this is damn impressive.”
Playing home to TNA’s Impact isn’t Spike’s first foray into the wrestling business. Spike’s predecessor TNN, which previously had shorter first-run deals with World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling, secured rights in 2000 to host WWE’s flagship show Raw is War as part of an internal re-branding campaign.
In September 2005, Raw returned to the USA Network, and the following month, TNA began airing programming on SpikeTV.
“The renewal just wasn’t the right deal with the network,” Schwarz said of the decision to part ways with WWE. “It just wasn’t the right deal.”
At that time, Spike also had rights to air Ultimate Fighting Championship programming, which was beginning to boom at the time and still remains a major asset to the network.
Now, with the combination of UFC and growing interest and ratings for TNA, the network could be finding an ideal combination.
“I think this year is the year TNA is really breaking out. As Dixie said, (WWE Chairman) Vince (McMahon) had better take notice, and I think he has,” Schwarz said. “No matter what the future holds, the real winners are the wrestling fans.”
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