Affidavits From Billy Corgan Lawsuit Reveal Details on TNA’s Move to PopTV

– While most of the information coming out of the TNA response to Billy Corgan’s lawsuit against them looked bad, some details have been surely overlooked due to the virtual smorgasboard of depressing revelations that we received. One of those, it would now seem, involve the details on Impact Wrestling’s move from Destination America to Pop TV. SE Scoops reports that sworn affidavits submitted in the response revealed that as was long reported (and denied), TNA went to Pop with a barter deal in which Pop TV got the series in exchange for a share of ad revenue as opposed to the typical guaranteed rights fee.

The affidavits in question were filed by both Dixie Carter and Impact Ventures CFO Dean Broadhead, and both admitted that the deal was such a barter arrangement. The response motion noted that TNA “began experiencing cash flow deficits as a result of moving Impact’s television show lirom Destination America to Pop TV” and that they were “expected and required to transition the brand from a license model to a barter sales contract tied to advertising sales.” The response claimed that this change was needed “in order to secure the company’s valuable digital rights, full sponsorship/advertising rights and non-exclusivity rights, all of which are critical to the long-term growth and success of the brand.”

It is not certain why TNA needed to make the change in order to secure their digital rights. Both affidavits state that “Impact made the strategic decision to move from a license fee to a barter system in the United States.” One of the long-reported reasons that Destination America made the decision not to continue forward with TNA was because many of their advertisers were not interested in airing their ads during Impact, thus resulting in the show getting a lower ad rate than its ratings would have otherwise suggested.