Alright, here's Marketing 101.... Or 100. I'm not a friggin professor.

[Pepe Silvia]

I've been hearing some people mention that TNA's ratings might be higher than RAW's. If TNA pulls a 2 I'll be ecstatic. Any improvement will be great, especially if the 3rd hour is higher than the 2nd. But you're leaving out the simple fact that if this broadcast was well received, one of the biggest factors won't kick in until next week.

One of the big things I actually noticed was that I'm pretty sure there weren't any MNF games on, and trust me, I looked. 4, 5, 7, Fox, ESPN, NESN, nothing. But if TNA's broadcast was a success, then one of the key points of marketing is going to kick in; word of mouth. People will be talking, telling their friends that they just watched some good shit and that they should see it too. All those people will tune in to TNA next week (Or the rerun this Thursday, for that matter) to see what was up.

So please, don't be all THIS TNA WILL HAVE 4.0 RATINGS ZOMG. It won't. Trust me. The highest I see it going would be a 2.5 for a bit, solely because of that TNA commercial during RAW, which mind you was absolutely hilarious. "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! YOU'RE MISSING THE RETURN OF HULKAMANIA!" TNA's not going to double it's ratings overnight, because new viewers can't be drawn in by something they haven't seen yet. However, there's probably a good chunk of people who know wrestling fans, and said people weren't interested enough to watch TNA or WWE to begin with. Maybe some people don't read spoiler sites and will now hear about Waltman/Hall/Hardy/Val Venis/others. Give it time, and stop expecting ratings to triple.

 

[Kliq]

Well I don't know if you'd count this, but a little tiny football game called the Fiesta Bowl was on. And I'm sort of surprised you'd look past that, since that's the entire reason Cena wasn't present on Raw tonight. But regardless, the ratings probably won't be much higher than usual, but that's okay. For TNA, tonight was establishing itself in the path it is now going to take in the future. As you said the effect tonight has won't be realized fully until we see what happens with the ratings in the coming weeks.

 

[y2empleh]

Who in there right mind thinks TNA is at a point of breaking above 2.0??? They are simply not. I doubt Raw's rating will change much. You might have the initial peak in the first segment but after a lackluster Bret/Shawn segment I'm not so sure people stayed tune, we'll see. As for TNA, do they have the potential to EVENTUALLY get to a 4.0? Yes I think so but I don't think we will be crossing that path for a few years if even that soon. I don't expect the TNA rating to go above 2.0. I would say Thursday would be a good night but with the BCS College Football championship that night I doubt it. The key for TNA will be next thursday night as to whether Monday night was a success. No competition from WWE or football

 

[Stormlor]

eh I don't know. I think with some of the good wrestling on TNA might get a good rating. Nothing in the 3.0 bracket, but thanks to the replay they might get another 1.0 to 2.0. I think that is what TNA is banking on, exposure.

Raw on the other hand, might go lower. We haven't seen anything good come from this Raw, nor the last few weeks.

In terms of Marketing, TNA did bad. No commercials other than that one during Raw (which I would love to see as I just skip the commercials) and really didn't show anything new until the program aired. If TNA wants to hit it big, they need to promote plain and simple. They did not do that, just as bad as they have promoted their PPV.

 

[Jetspete]

RAW's biggest marketing problem was that its biggest star was not on the show. Other than that, it was a fine two hour program. But word of mouth most helped WWE. I spoke with a lot of casual fans who have not followed wrestling in several years. I was surprised when I told them about the two shows, that almost all were excited to see Hart rather than Hogan. A few people even forgot Impact started at 8pm. TNA might very well have a decent rating, but remember this is a one time supershow. To compete week-in and week-out would be a different story.

Raw rating will be interesting, but it should be pretty high. Hart was marketed well, as you'd excect from a multi-million dollar company on a top rated network

 

[The Kingpin]

Just to point out, there were no Monday Night Football Games on tonight because it was the Tostito's Fiesta Bowl on, and it is my understanding the NFL and NCAA have a bit of a agreement to not take anything away from the NCAA, hence, NCAA on on Saturdays, NFL on every other day.

To comment though, TNA might not get the higher rating, but it deserved it last night.

 

[StopFantasyBooking]

People, Raw was the superior show last night. The very first TNA match got a "this is bullshit" chant from the always TNA-hardcore fans that fill the impact zone. The main event went for what, 3 minutes (clarification: 3 minutes that we actually saw because of all the commercials) before the usual idiocy?

Oh boy, thanks for the change, Hogan. Scott Hall, Sean Waltman, Ric Flair...big deal.

Jeff Hardy was their only high point last night and they blew him with the worst music and a meaningless brawl after a cage match where one of the guys physically couldn't get out of the cage.

Please stop being delusional. First hour - 1.5. Second hour - 0.4. Third hour - 0.3.

 

[worldchamp101]

Stormlor you are wrong about one thing. The commercial for TNA that was shown during RAW was not the only TNA commercial. I remember seeing a commercial for TNA during the January 1st edition of Smackdown.

 

[BigAdz]

Please stop being delusional. First hour - 1.5. Second hour - 0.4. Third hour - 0.3.

Stop being pessimistic.

While I agree that Raw had the better deal with Bret Hart, simply cos Hogan's last run in WWE gave me enough Hulkamania to last me a life time, TNA didn't actually drop the ball here.
Didn't run all the way with it either, but they actually did ok. Better than I was expecting them to. Even seeing Hall (sober) and Waltman was a pretty cool treat. Now, they both need to fade away and stay out of the ring at all costs, unless they're putting someone over. Yeah, I know, I'm funny...

My biggest gripe with the special is the same I've had with TNA forever; no hype for their home-grown stars. Granted, Hogan coming in was a big deal to the company but even Hulkamania has an expiry date (which is long past).
Why you wouldn't build more hype over your World Heavyweight Championship match, involving two of the best performers you have in the roster in Angle and AJ, knowing that Raw's going to have 4 former world champs and a midget in one of their matches is absolutely beyond me.

AJ Styles is a legend in the making but TNA wouldn't have you know it looking at him today.

 

[Dave]

Please stop being delusional. First hour - 1.5. Second hour - 0.4. Third hour - 0.3.

I could say the exact same thing to you, friend.

TNA had it's biggest night of the company existence last night and I fully expect it to hold a good rating throughout. I think that the first hour will very likely be in the high 1's or the low 2'. My best guess it that the first hour will have garnered a 2.1 and I expect that the hours that followed it will have dropped off to the regular audience figures. There is no way, NO WAY, that it will be as low as a 0.3. My best guess is that the following two hours will be around 1.1 or something very similar.

 

[MammaJamma22]

I think whether or not you like TNA...or despise them....you have to be optimistic about last night. In the end, if TNA finds success going head to head with WWE, wrestling fans are the ones who win. We will find ourselves being presented with better matches, stories, etc etc.

 

[GetsHeat]

People, Raw was the superior show last night. The very first TNA match got a "this is bullshit" chant from the always TNA-hardcore fans that fill the impact zone. The main event went for what, 3 minutes (clarification: 3 minutes that we actually saw because of all the commercials) before the usual idiocy?

Oh boy, thanks for the change, Hogan. Scott Hall, Sean Waltman, Ric Flair...big deal.

Jeff Hardy was their only high point last night and they blew him with the worst music and a meaningless brawl after a cage match where one of the guys physically couldn't get out of the cage.

Please stop being delusional. First hour - 1.5. Second hour - 0.4. Third hour - 0.3.

I'll take this is bullshit chant over practical silence at every moment like we've seen in WWE. It let's them know.

It wouldn't entirely surprise me to see the second hour higher then the first, considering Hogan didn't appear till later on.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Ultimately, what last night's iMPACT was supposed to signal was a new beginning and a fresh start for the company. Since it was announced that Hogan had signed with TNA, the company had been in lame duck mode and it showed. Each week when I watched, I along with a lot of others, couldn't shake the feeling that everything we were watching didn't really matter at all. And, because of that, I think a lot of people did lose interest in TNA. The company had been drawing a 1.3 on a regular basis throughout the year. When September hit, iMPACT sometimes had trouble drawing a 1.0 in the ratings.

Now, did iMPACT score at least a 3.0 last night as Hulk Hogan was predicting? I VERY much doubt it. If TNA scored a 1.5 or higher for the night, they should be very pleased. Personally, I'm guessing the show pulled a 1.2 overall for the night.

A lot of people loved iMPACT last night and that's all well and good. But aside from all the various appearances by the other big names and the main event, iMPACT just seemed like a regular show for me. With the exception of Jeff Hardy showing up and the main event match between Styles and Angle, nothing took place on the show last night that I gave a crap about. It wasn't a big thrill for me to see all the old nWo members back together or Ric Flair showing up and all that. Once you got past all that, I thought the vast majority of the night was just your typical TNA show. If you weren't a fan of TNA's last night, I doubt that there were very many converts. Last night, neither company changed the face of wrestling in my view.

However, I'm sure the hardcore fanbase of TNA was excited by last night's show and that's a good thing for the company. Now that they've started out fresh and started the new year with a bang, they've got momentum going. One of the real tests, however, is coming up pretty soon. One of TNA's biggest problems has been its inability to sustain whatever momentum it gains. If TNA can keep the momentum up and Hogan is able to build and push young talent the way he says he's hoping to, then TNA could potentially become real competition by the end of this year.

The word is that TNA is going to have 3 more live iMPACT shows on Mondays throughout the year. Based upon how those shows do in the ratings and the numbers iMPACT is able to pull on its regular night and time will determine next year if there's really going to be a second Monday Night Wars.

 

[MisterRob]

I could say the exact same thing to you, friend.

TNA had it's biggest night of the company existence last night and I fully expect it to hold a good rating throughout. I think that the first hour will very likely be in the high 1's or the low 2'. My best guess it that the first hour will have garnered a 2.1 and I expect that the hours that followed it will have dropped off to the regular audience figures. There is no way, NO WAY, that it will be as low as a 0.3. My best guess is that the following two hours will be around 1.1 or something very similar.

You're living in an imaginary world and I'm going to come back and laugh at you when the ratings come out. Where did these fans suddenly come from that will push TNA's ratings up anywhere from the lackluster numbers they usuaully get? There's no way they're coming from WWE. There's no way any casual fans stuck with the TNA show after the horrendous first hour they offered. I keep hearing, over and over, all these TNA fans tossing out praise for the show like it was gold.. and it's hilarious. That show was awful, and it did nothing right that would draw in a fanbase that wasn't already there in TNA. Anyone who thinks they got even close to a 2 rating on any hour is out of their mind.