wrestling / Columns

Truths & Lies: Breaking Down The Destination America TNA TV Deal

November 25, 2014 | Posted by Justin Watry

“Spike TV was not going to renew their deal come October. The two sides left on good terms. TNA was informed ‘quietly’ and now have time to find a new network.” “We all love youth movements, pushing new stars, and all that, but none of it matters to Spike TV. Look no further than Bellator – they want name value; nothing else.”

“Ratings had not moved in years. YEARS! In fact, they have gone DOWN the past few years. Hundreds of thousands of viewers had left TNA Impact Wrestling. Coincidentally enough, it happened after the ridiculous Bobby Roode/James Storm nonsense. Something I wrote about in early 2012…but was ignored by fans as usual. How is that working out for you now?”

“Reality shows are cheap to produce. Thus, cheap shows with better ratings or funding TNA with worse results? You decide. I have no idea what SPIKE wants to focus on going forward. Could be more Bellator. Could be all COPS reruns. Either way, the defense of “Well, TNA does good numbers for Spike” means absolutely nothing. If the network wants to move (on), they will. Ask WCW.”

“Folks, there have been a lot of negative signs. The TNA die hards did their usual ‘head in the sand’ defense. The sane folks saw problems, big problems. Clearly, Spike TV is well aware of all of this. You need a business market in the United States to survive IN the United States.”

“If you actually think a big network is going to sign TNA, you are likely the same folks who repeatedly denied all of the other stuff the past year. Care to elaborate now? Bottom line: It is now or never for TNA to even survive. Not thrive – survive. All the hard working men and women in front of the camera and behind the scenes deserve better than this. The company has some TV tapings coming up in early August and then nothing else. Great future, huh? Unless SPIKE TV has a change of heart (always possible), they need to find another network. AND FAST! Going overseas is a nice idea but not plausible. Strictly staying online, Youtube, or whatever is a short-term fix. Again, their talent budget and such would not make that plausible. Truthfully, I have no idea what they do next. Find a bottom feeder network and collect ANY kind of payday? Sure. Become the true indy company they always have been? Maybe. WWE found out real quickly there are not networks gushing over wrestling these days. If they did not want WWE, they are certainly NOT going to touch TNA. Just a bad situation for them as a whole. They have until October to figure things out.”

Those were just a few quotes from yours truly in late July 2014 when I wrote about the TMZ report about Spike TV ‘canceling’ TNA Impact Wrestling. Four months later, here we are. Coming from somebody who repeatedly said TNA would find a new home (read my Jay’s Ways column) during the past few months, this column was a long time coming. Now we can dive into their current situation using my Truths and Lies concept, as well as whatever the future holds heading into 2015, as according to TNA, Team 3D will be inducted into their Hall of Fame next year…

The original TMZ report from July was proven to be correct.

It took awhile, but this looks to be a TRUTH statement.

The folks who did not believe the initial TMZ story are the same folks who said TNA was not in any financial trouble last year, the same folks who thought going on the road last year would work, the same folks who thought Kaz and Daniels would not leave, the same folks who believed Chris Sabin would stay, the same folks who thought Eric Young winning the TNA Title was great, the same folks who enjoyed Magnus looking like a clown as a main eventer earlier this year, the same folks who swore up and down AJ Styles leaving TNA was a work well after it was clearly not, the same folks who think cancelling live events, having no DVD distribution, and having a nearly irrelevant 2014 Bound for Glory pay-per-view are good things for the company. Yep, those same folks also blasted the TMZ story.

Denial can be a tough thing.

Part of the ‘grieving’ process I suppose. Just plug your ears and pretend everything will be okay! As I noted with just those examples above, it usually ends up proving itself in the long run. When the TMZ story broke in July, there was a plethora of reactions – many claiming NO WAY was this true. Well, allow me to let everybody in on a little inside scoop: I was faced with a similar dilemma on that night concerning the cancellation news. When the boss man wanted a column done on the topic, it was literally MINUTES after the TMZ news story was posted. No time to process it all. No time for details. No time to get a response from any outside source. I had to make a snap judgment on the spot – trust the TMZ story…or not trust the TMZ story.

After going back and forth, I went with TMZ and took a leap of faith writing about Spike TV cancelling TNA as if it were fact. Again, literally minutes after the news broke. It was a risk, but four months later (yeah, hindsight is 20/20), I can safely say it was the right decision. Those who bought into the laughable “negotiations are still ongoing” nonsense from both sides when it was clearly just everybody playing nice in public, like all the other TNA stories from the past year, you lose.

Spike TV was a terrible television partner for TNA during the past nine years.

Probably the biggest LIE imaginable in this all. Just amazing fans actually believe this tall tale…

Spike TV gave TNA a television deal in 2005, which was a huge leap from FSN/online services.

Spike TV bumped them from a late Saturday time slot to a cushy Thursday time slot.

Spike TV gave them an extra hour later on.

Spike TV (straight from an executive’s mouth a few weeks ago) paid for a few of the top star’s salaries.

Spike TV (straight from an executive’s mouth a few weeks ago) help fund them doing shows, UK tour included.

Spike TV moved them to a LIVE Monday night time slot when requested in 2010 for a laughable (non) “war” with WWE.

Spike TV also aired replays on Thursdays – which sometimes did better numbers that initial Monday shows.

Spike TV kept TNA on board and bumped them back to Thursdays, when it was clear the Monday move was a bust.

Spike TV has indeed given TNA extra programming over the years but never did it full-time due to…yep, low ratings.

Spike TV let them move an hour up in 2012 and go live, you know because that was the problem.

Spike TV then let them move an hour back in 2013, you know because now THAT was the problem.

Spike TV (as noted above) helped them go on the road, broadcast live, and spend tons of money in 2013 – likely a last ditch effort.

Even when Spike TV was finally done with TNA in mid-2014, they STILL helped out by moving them to Wednesday nights AND gave the show an extension, while they could find a new home. Otherwise, TNA would be OFF THE AIR as we speak! You can thank Spike TV for that and much more from the past nine years.

Seriously, enough of the ‘woe is me’ garbage for poor old little TNA on the big bad network Spike TV. Save me the tired “but…but they never promoted us, wah, wah, wah!” excuse. TNA used to draw 1.3-1.9 million viewers on a weekly basis ON SPIKE TV in 2011, even hitting over 2 million viewers for a Thursday show from the Impact Zone ON SPIKE TV! For years, Spike TV did every single thing possible for TNA to bump business. Go live, pay for talent, fund road tapings, annual UK Tour too, move nights, change time slots, etc. Every single dangling carrot in the world was used. At the end of the day, it falls on TNA. Not Spike TV.

It was inevitable that TNA would sign with a lower tier network, if they planned to stay on TV.

Just by process of elimination, this was an easy TRUTH from the beginning.

TNT was never going to sign TNA. TBS was never going to sign TNA. AMC was never going to sign TNA. Obviously, no NBCUniversal channel was going to get near TNA. FX was a cool idea but like other networks – way too mainstream to even bother with TNA on any serious level. CBS, FOX, and ABC are so far beyond TNA it is not even funny, being on broadcast TV and all. I doubt any of them even know what a “TNA” is. WGN was the popular pick in recent weeks, with many assuming it was a done deal already (as usual, they were wrong). Once WGN signed the new wrestling reality show though, the writing was on the wall: TNA is heading elsewhere.

Fox Sports 1, ESPN, and other SPORTS networks in the United States would not allow TNA on air for obvious reasons, so they were out. Even a channel like FXX was above giving TNA two hours a week. The low ratings and terrible advertising rates did not even fly on Spike TV for crying out loud! Spike TV! That would definitely not fly on TNT, TBS, ESPN, etc. As you can see, the options slowly start to dwindle right off the bat. Thus, TNA was going to be taking a huge step down regardless of where the home ultimately was. Personally, I thought My Network TV would have been an interesting idea. Something like CMT, TruTV, or even ION were about what I was expecting, if not something lower.

Well…lower it was. Much lower!

Destination America will prove to be a better fit than Spike TV for TNA.

Leaning towards LIE right now but can understand the early excitement. It is a fresh start. It is a new home. It is an exciting new beginning for the company. Just been dumped by Spike TV, you are automatically going to fall in love with whoever the new partner is regardless of the blatant demotion. Think of it using the shiny toy analogy. First day you get that new toy, you play with it for hours on end. You jump up and down. You are smiling. You are taking pictures. You are showing your friends and family all the cool features. It is just amazing – heaven on earth. Greatest toy ever!

Then a week goes by…then another…then another. Still cool. Still fun, but it is now sitting in the corner when it used to sit on the shelf to keep it clean. Then one day, you do not play with it at all . Maybe you forgot about it. Maybe you were busy. Then it does not get played with for a few days. Before you know it, a new shiny toy has arrived, and the former shiny toy is in a bin buried under your bed collecting dust. That is TNA going to Destination America right now.

“YAY! They will be the top priority! MORE programming! A BIG push from social media! AWESOME! Screw you Spike TV, we never liked you anyways! Destination America is the greatest!” WOOOOO!!!

Riiiiight. Press releases make me laugh (from all companies to be fair). Always rainbows and sunshine with the underlying scent of BS all over the place. So funny to read sometimes. I am making a 2015 BOLD prediction right now: After a few months of toiling away on Destination America, TNA is going to truly realize how good they had it at Spike TV all these years. Fans too. Laugh now but Spike is going to look like the freakin’ Taj Mahal compared to the Destination America motel. Remember the saying – you do not know what you have until it is gone. Well, I give a few months before folks truly grasp that.

Is Destination America going to boost the non-existent TNA pay-per-view business? Spoiler alert: No. Is Destination America going to fill up those empty arenas for TNA live events? Spoiler alert: No. Is Destination America going to bump television ratings? Spoiler alert: No. Numbers are expected to be cut in HALF! Across the board, Destination America is a big step down from Spike TV and (another spoiler alert!) is not going to do anything for live events, PPV buys, etc. As I noted on Twitter after learning the news…

…this move was made just to survive. Not thrive. TNA has gone back to 2004 on FSN. After nearly a decade on Spike TV of flushing millions of dollars down the toilet, making numerous terrible business decisions, ridiculous signings, and wasting so many great wrestlers’ prime years, it is back to the drawing board. Back to 2004. TNA is back to square one. Instead of FSN, this time – it is Destination America.

Any kind of TV deal is still better than no TV deal.

Bottom line: TNA drawing 500,000 viewers on a lower tier network is still better than 0 viewers on no network. This is a TRUTH and can not be denied. For the past year or so, I have been asked over and over if TNA will die, go out of business, fold, close up show, etc. Every single time, I replied no. TNA is a cockroach. Does not really do anything to make an ‘impact’ – just kind of lives on each year aimlessly. Forget all my babbling. Forget the big step down. Forget the fact that live events, PPV buys, TV ratings, and every other measure of business is in the gutter for TNA. It does not change the fact that they will survive (not thrive mind you) and WILL air on television 2015. Now it is full stream ahead to their 56,687th reboot in January: “THIS TIME, IT IS FOR REAL GUYS! WE PROMISE!”

I already eagerly anticipate their summer 2015 reboot…

…on Destination America.

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