Rumor Mill - Destination America Cancelling Impact Wrestling

According to Dave Meltzer of F4Wonline.com and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Destination America is going to cancel TNA Impact Wrestling programming, following reports the network was disappointed with the wrestling company’s ratings.

It was recently reported that Destination America had an ‘out clause’ of their deal with TNA in September, and they would be moving Impact Wrestling from Friday nights to Wednesday nights. It was believed that the move was in order to try and get the show better ratings, this is apparently not the case.

Meltzer wrote:

“Just days before the move was announced, Destination America made the decision to cancel TNA Wrestling, with the time frame given at the end of the third quarter (roughly the last week of September, when the current television season ends). Key people at the Discovery Channel network were informed of the decision at that point.

The word internally was that while they considered the ratings good, the ratings were not good enough to justify the cost of the programming. The other problem was that so many regular station advertisers specifically did not want to advertise on the show.

It should be noted that when the word was sent out, it was stated specifically that TNA would remain on Friday nights, with original episodes, until that point, and informing people for the fall season plans for Friday nights. Just days later, they were moved to Wednesday.

The decision was meant to be kept secret, very much like Spike kept secret publicly last year its decision to drop TNA for months after the decision was made and reported. It doesn’t serve the station or the promotion any good to publicly cancel the show this far in advance. The public acknowledgment was expected to come around the time the station listed its 2015-16 television season prime time lineup with the launch of up front advertising.

Those who were informed of the cancellation have not been told at this point anything different several days after the change of date was announced. But things obviously have changed, at least to the degree of moving days. So this story is very much ongoing.”

Rumor Mill - Eric Bischoff Suing TNA, Alleging Missed And Late Payments, TNA Responds, More Details

According to ProWrestling.net Eric Bischoff, his son Garett and business partner Jason Hervey have filed a lawsuit against TNA for breach of contract. PW.net reports that the suit was filed on May 15th in Davidson County, Tennessee and claims that the company owes them $114,500.02.

The report says that Eric Bischoff and Hervey are listed under their production company, and are alleging that they were hired on a "pay or play" deal. They, and Garett say that TNA paid them on time until the end of September, and that Bischoff-Hervey Entertainment informed TNA of a breach in the contract on November 4th due to a failure to pay in October. A second notice was issued on November 24th. TNA eventually paid $101,500 before 2015, but the company is still looking for the same amount for the last three months of their contract, which expired on March 31st.

Garett Bischoff was a part of the company's first deal with the company before signing his own contract with TNA on October 24th. His contract included $2,166.67 monthly on what was called a "pay or play" deal, in addition to $500 for paid performances. His deal also expired on March 21st and claims that TNA still owes him over $13,000.

TNA supposedly issued a response on January 12th, claiming that they had paid Bischoff-Hervey in full, which Bischoff-Hervey disagreed with. Bischoff-Hervey's attorney Bryan Lewis told TNA's attorney, "When the money was sent, you did not make it clear whether it was in connection with the settlement offer that was on the table or a reinstatement by TNA," reads the letter from Lewis. "TNA did not make a request that Bischoff-Hervey perform services when the money was sent. Bischoff-Hervery Entertainment stands ready, willing, and able to perform under the agreement in the event TNA is reinstating that agreement."

TNA Announces Move to Wednesday Night for Impact Wrestling

Destination America’s IMPACT WRESTLING, will make a permanent move to Wednesday nights at 9/8c beginning Wednesday, June 3rd. The mid-week knockout premiere will kick off with stellar matches showcasing America’s favorite wrestlers.

The tag teams will head to epic battles with The Wolves and the Dirty Heels competing in match three of the Best of 5 Series on their quest to capture the vacated TNA Tag Team Titles, and The Rising and the BDC are at war battling it out in a six-man tag team matchup. TNA World Champion Kurt Angle will compete in the main event and the Knockouts will be in action featuring the Dollhouse and Brooke.

Tonight, IMPACT WRESTLING continues its premieres with Hardcore War at 9/8c on Destination America.

While Kurt Angle defeated Eric Young to retain the TNA World Title last week, the feud continues as Young and Angle form teams to compete in a 10-man tag match where each participatant can bring a weapon of choice to the ring. Austin Aries and Bobby Roode, the Dirty Heels, will face The Wolves, with a returning Eddie Edwards, in the first of a Best of 5 Series for the TNA Tag Team Titles. The Dollhouse, Marti Bell and Jade, take on Brooke and Rebel in tag team Knockouts action. Ethan Carter III also continues his “EC3 for Champ” campaign and the BroMans return to find out what the future has in store for Jessie, Robbie E and DJ Z.

IMPACT WRESTLING premieres Hardcore War tonight at 9/8c with the permanent switch to Wednesday nights starting June 3rd only on Destination America!

Rumor Mill - Dixie Carter Holds Talent Meeting at Impact Tapings, Instructs Talent to “Pay No Mind” to Viewership Information

According to PWInsider.com, TNA President Dixie Carter held a meeting at this past weekend’s Impact Wrestling tapings and instructed talent not to believe what they might read on internet websites where it concerns ratings and viewership information.

Dixie claimed ratings data exists which internet sites are not privy to, but are available to people like her. She claimed when websites publish TNA ratings data, the sites are not including the information with the West Coast numbers, but rather we post the data that comes from Nielsen. Dixie also pointed out that websites don’t report on the +.3 or +.7 DVR numbers, as some fans watch Impact broadcasts on days other than Friday.

Dixie added the numbers are better than they appear to be, and instructed talent to “pay no mind” to what the internet reports.

TNA Airing a Three-Hour Episode of Impact Wrestling

Destination America is advertising a three-hour episode of TNA Impact Wrestling for Friday, May 22nd. This is the episode taped last night and that explains why there were so many matches.

The episode is scheduled to begin at 8pm EST and run until 11pm EST. A three-hour replay will air immediately after.

Did "TKO: A Night of Knockouts" Help Friday's TNA Impact Wrestling Viewership?

Friday's episode of TNA Impact Wrestling, a special Total Knockouts edition, drew 381,000 viewers, down from the previous week's 401,000 viewers.

Friday's Impact ranked #51 out of the top 100 cable originals for the day. We will have viewership numbers for the replay later.

TNA Announces New TV Deal Bringing Impact To Canada, Dixie Carter Comments

Fight Network, the world's premier 24/7 television channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, today announced a multi-year deal with TNA Wrestling to broadcast exclusive shows and series across Canada.

Beginning next Friday, April 3, Fight Network will premiere TNA's two-hour flagship weekly program IMPACT WRESTLING every Friday night at 9 p.m. ET. The roster features such greats as Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, Lashley, Bobby Roode, MVP, EC3, James Storm, the high flying X Division, Gail Kim and the lovely and lethal Knockouts, and many more.

Premiering on Saturday nights at 11 p.m. ET, TNA Xplosion features explosive exclusive matches, a look back at historical matches, as well as pop culture roundtable discussions, plus recaps of IMPACT WRESTLING.

TNA Wrestling's Greatest Matches, premiering Fridays at 8 p.m. ET leading into IMPACT WRESTLING, is a series looking back at the greatest feuds, match types and highlights from the careers of individual wrestlers from the past and present TNA Wrestling roster.

"TNA has been a staple and innovator in the professional wrestling business for the past decade, providing countless memorable matches and moments, while spawning the careers of new stars and showcasing all-time greats in the industry," said Chad Midgley, VP of Content at Fight Network. "We're excited to become the official exclusive Canadian broadcast partner. In addition to airing the popular IMPACT WRESTLING weekly show, we'll be reliving some of the organization's unforgettable history on the Greatest Matches series."

"We can't wait to be back in living rooms across Canada starting this Friday. Our fans across Canada have been vocal and incredibly patient as we worked to find a fantastic broadcast partner for IMPACT WRESTLING," said Dixie Carter, president of TNA Wrestling. "The good news is Fight Network has picked up other TNA programming like Xplosion and Greatest Matches, so fans in Canada will now have more access than ever to the best pro wrestling entertainment in the world, including TNA Superstars and Canada's own Bobby Roode, Gail Kim and Eric Young."

Viewership and Rating for TNA's Impact Wrestling Debut on Destination America

Wednesday's TNA Impact Wrestling premiere on Destination America drew 263,000 viewers for a 0.46 cable rating. This was the most watched show on Destination America for the week, beating Killing Bigfoot, which drew 250,000 viewers.

The last first-run episode of Impact on Spike TV in November drew 980,000 viewers. Spike is available in more than 80% of US homes while Destination America is available in around 50%.

The Impact replay that aired at 11pm on Destination America drew 105,000 viewers.

Backstage News on TNA's Future with Live Events

TNA will reportedly not be running any non-televised live events any time soon, despite the new TV deal with Destination America.

TNA will still be doing a few live pay-per-view events this year but will mostly be focusing on their TV product. It doesn't make much sense for TNA to run live events that aren't tapings because they lose money.

Production issues at first Impact Wrestling taping in NYC

Last night's 1/7 TNA Impact Wrestling tapings at the Manhattan Center in New York City, a live-to-tape episode for the debut on Destination America, was described as having a myriad of production issues according to multiple wrestling media reports.

It ended up taking TNA nearly three hours to film the two hour episode of Impact Wrestling on Wednesday night. While they did use previous production staff, they ended up using the Manhattan Center's production equipment. A variety of technical issues ended up taking place leaving the live audience waiting for nearly 15 to 20 minutes at a time.

David Sahadi was not directing the show last night and it was described as being very clear that the production on Wednesday night wasn't nearly as smooth as it has been in years past with Spike TV. TNA was forced to cut back on production costs as part of the new deal with Destination America. Going forward, TNA will handle all post-production out of the company headquarters in Nashville with tapings tonight and Friday night.

The company plans to film four episodes of Impact Wrestling including the Lockdown special over the next two nights at the Manhattan Center in New York City. TNA will be filming new episodes during the upcoming UK tour starting in late January. Dixie Carter revealed in interviews this week that TNA is also looking at a possible return to Universal Studios in Orlando at a new sound stage for additional TV tapings in 2015.

Rumor Mill - TNA Making Major Changes to Impact Wrestling on Destination America, More Like Reality TV

TNA Impact Wrestling will reportedly have a heavy reality TV theme to the show when it premieres with Destination America this week. The idea is to have cameras filming everything from wrestlers walking around backstage, entering the building and even being out of character. Dixie Carter is said to be a big fan of reality TV and Destination America already shows a lot of reality-type programming. TNA will be changing the format of Impact some to fit Destination America better.

TNA Announces Move to Friday Nights, Details on Destination America Partnership, Encore Programming & More

Impact Wrestling will be moving to Friday nights in 2015 on their new home, Destination America. The company sent out a press release detailing the move, as well as announcing encore programming for the network.

The press release is featured below in its entirety, but the major news is that each week TNA will be given a four hour slot on Friday nights, with an encore immediately following each first-run broadcast. Confirming our earlier reports, a “new” show called “IMPACT WRESTLING: UNLOCKED” will air every Saturday from 10 AM-12 PM ET that will feature “a reloaded edition of the previous week’s IMPACT WRESTLING that will be a whole new viewing experience featuring extra content and never-before-seen footage.”

DESTINATION AMERICA PINS DOWN DEBUT DATE FOR IMPACT WRESTLING

(Silver Spring, Md.) – Brace for IMPACT! Destination America iskicking-off the New Year as the new destination for professional wrestling following the announcement that Discovery Communications and TNA (Total Nonstop Action) Entertainment have signed an exclusive broadcast deal bringing IMPACT WRESTLING to the only network dedicated to celebrating the people, places and stories of the United States. IMPACT WRESTLING debuts on Destination America with a special LIVE broadcast on Wednesday, January 7 from 9-11 PM ET, televised from New York City’s legendary Manhattan Center. IMPACT WRESTLING will move to its permanent time slot on Fridays from 9-11 PM ET beginning January 16 on Destination America.

“We’ve been listening to what fans have to say and, with their feedback in mind, IMPACT WRESTLING’s live debut on Destination America will be nonstop, in-your-face action with no filters, big personalities, and epic battles,” said Marc Etkind, general manager of Destination America. “Wrestling is a national pastime that combines dynamic entertainment with intense crowds, and we can’t wait for IMPACT WRESTLING’s passionate fans to bring their ‘fandemonium’ to Destination America in January!”

“A week after the ball drops in New York City, fists will fly as IMPACT WRESTLING begins a new era with our LIVE debut on Destination America,” said TNA President Dixie Carter. “IMPACT WRESTLING will be the most compelling two hours of wrestling on television.”

The special live broadcast on Wednesday, January 7 will feature a main event for the richest prize in IMPACT WRESTLING: the World Heavyweight Championship, Roode vs. Lashley III. A decisive rematch in this epic trilogy, reigning champion Bobby Roode defends the title against dominant former heavyweight champion Bobby Lashley to prove who’s the best in IMPACT WRESTLING. Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, Gail Kim, Ethan Carter III (aka EC3), and all the stars of IMPACT add to the explosive debut. An encore will follow from 11 PM-1 AM ET.

More?

Photo: TNA reveals new logo for Impact Wrestling

TNA President Dixie Carter posted the following on Twitter:

"I want to share with you first the new Impact Wrestling logo! Now share with your friends. LOTS more to come today!"

TNA Wrestling On Netflix?

Variety.com has a new article up highlighting Discovery’s desire to partner with Netflix, to stream more of their content on the website. They currently have a deal in place with Hulu for exclusive on-demands rights to “Deadliest Catch”.

Discovery is the new home of Impact Wrestling, which will debut on Destination America in January 2015. While a potential deal between Discover and Netflix is still being worked out – Variety says its a matter of determining value – it could lead to TNA content coming to the over-the-top network in the future.

Discovery’s Destination America Sets Rights Deal with TNA Impact Wrestling

Latest Details On TNA’s New TV Deal, Rumored Networks & More Programming

The frontrunner to land the domestic TV rights to TNA’s programming is one owned by Discovery Communications. Discovery currently owns 14 domestic networks but the two rumored to land TNA programming include Velocity and Destination America.

Velocity was available in 58 million homes as of 2013 and is an HD-only network. Destination America was available in 57 million homes as of 2013 and has an HD Simulcast (like other cable networks such as Spike TV). How both networks compare to Spike TV is they are available in significantly less homes. Industry estimates have Spike in 98.7 million homes.

It is certainly possible that TNA will get more clearance on their new domestic TV deal. While their deal with Spike gave them a two-hour weekly slot in prime time for Impact, that was it (aside from occasional specials). They currently distribute TNA Xplosion and British Bootcamp internationally and Dixie Carter made it abundantly clear in a piece she did with Grantland.com that she wanted two things with a new domestic TV partner – stability and more hours. Below is her quote:

“We will die a slow death on the vine if we just stay as one two-hour show in the U.S.,” she says. “I have big decisions to make. I want this to be a big play. I don’t want this to be a status quo play.”

TNA already has TV tapings scheduled for January and those tapings will be for their new network. While we wait for TNA to announce their new domestic TV deal, here’s what we know:

TNA will continue to air on TV in the United States from 2015 and beyond
The final first-run episode of Impact will air on Spike TV on Wednesday, November 19, 2014
TNA’s new TV partner is rumored to be Discovery Communications
Rumored networks to house TNA programming include Velocity and Destination America
TNA will be available in fewer homes in the United States
Dixie Carter wants more than 2 hours per week and the new domestic deal has the possibility of more weekly hours

Al Snow interview: 'TNA can be a major competitor in wrestling'

Can TNA Get Over?

Rumors have swirled about the demise of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Is this the end for the company? And will professional wrestling ever support two major promotions again? Click here.

source: grantland.com

TNA Live Events Reportedly On Hold, More Departures Rumored, TNA Focusing on TV Now

PWInsider and the Talk Is TNA podcast both report that there's talk of more TNA office departures in the last week.

Talk Is TNA reports that TNA live events are on hiatus for the foreseeable future as the company is focusing on TV for now. Some of the releases in the last week were reportedly from the live event department.

After this weekend's tapings in North Carolina & Virginia, TNA has tapings next week in Bethlehem, PA and then the Bound For Glory pay-per-view from Tokyo in October. After Bound For Glory, there are no TNA events scheduled until the UK tour in January 2015.

Jim Ross Talks TNA Needing To Make Changes

Jim Ross stopped for an in-depth interview with Submission Radio over the weekend and spoke about TNA:

"Well they have to find a North American cable television partner. They gotta find it by the 1st of the year because that's when there extension with Spike ends. So they have to find that partner that pays them enough rights fees to help pay their bills. They can't make, it I don't think - that's my assumptions - I am assuming that TNA Impact wrestling cannot survive long term, simply on the money they earn outside the United States or outside North America. It's just not there to pay their bills, and other than that, they're gonna have to do some retooling on their business model and they're gonna have to work on their budget. So if they don't have that money, I think it's imperative that they get an North American cable outlet that pays them enough money to help them keep their doors open. And I hope that they succeed. They have a potential to be a good brand. I think they have a very variable talent roaster, but I would put it in terms this way, some of them are cast wrong if you wanna use a showbiz term. They're in the wrong rolls, and using an American Football term I think they're running the wrong system. Their talents aren't being used to fit the talent's strengths. But I have a lot of friends that work there and I hope they get a second chance and that they succeed in the future.

"TNA's gotta change the way they present their product if they do get in a new environment, and if they do, they have to become the alternative to the WWE and not be compared as a 'WWE lite' comparison."



You can check out the full interview by clicking here (starting at the 55:14 mark).