TNA PINS DOWN SPIKE TV
- 07/23/2005 (3:23:38 pm)
- Georgiann Makropoulos
This is so positive for TNA….
| Pro wrestlers pin down Spike TV | |||
| By Chris Lewis, [email protected] July 22, 2005 | |||
| Nashville-based TNA Entertainment took a big leap into the pro-wrestling ring with this week's announcement that the company's weekly series, iMPACT!, will be aired by Spike TV this fall. TNA signed a deal with the national cable TV network to carry the one-hour show on its popular "Slammin' Saturday Night" programming block, in a slot now occupied by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Being seen on a national network with 89 million viewers is the "biggest deal" so far for TNA, said Chris Blechschmidt, TNA's director of affiliate relations and marketing. "We're really the new kid on the block. We're jumping in, we're getting national exposure now," he said. "And it's going to explode once we get this rolling." TNA Entertainment, founded three years ago by Nashville-area wrestler Jeff Jarrett and his father, Jerry, produces pay-per-view wrestling events each month that are carried on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV and Dish Network, among other TV networks. iMPACT!, which is taped at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla., focuses on high-risk, live-action athletic entertainment by its stars, including Jarrett, Raven, Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles. The year-old show has been run on Fox Sports Net Fridays at 3 p.m. After the contract ran out, TNA seized the opportunity to move over to Spike TV, since the WWE is moving its show to the USA Network. "It's the push we really need to really take it to the next level," Blechschmidt said. "Our goal is to basically drive ratings for Spike, drive ratings for iMPACT! and then generate pay-per-view buys." Spike TV gives TNA a better edge because Fox Sports Net aired iMPACT! over its network of regional channels, which meant the show didn't always air at the same time in all markets, said Tom Umstead, programming editor for the cable TV trade magazine Multichannel News. Spike gives TNA a significant boost in competing more effectively against the industry giant, WWE, he said. "And I think Spike TV's deal will go a long way in giving them the opportunity to get some of the same exposure that WWE does on cable," Umstead said. | |||
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