Impact Wrestling Becomes First Entertainment Company To Stream Live To Twitter

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IMPACT WRESTLING BECOMES FIRST ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY TO STREAM LIVE TO TWITTER

TNA WRESTLING makes history with IMPACT franchise by becoming the first entertainment company on Twitter to stream its "Backstage Access" live

NASHVILLE, TN - (August 4, 2012) -- TNA WRESTLING made history on the Thursday August 2, 2012 LIVE broadcast of IMPACT WRESTLING by becoming the first entertainment company on Twitter to stream its "Backstage Access" live via its YouTube partner on IMPACT's Enhanced Twitter Page at www.twitter.com/IMPACTWRESTLING.

IMPACT WRESTLING has pioneered in the field of social media when it comes to professional wrestling – whether incorporating live tweets from fans into the weekly television show on Spike in real time, interacting with fans during live pay-per-views in live Q&A's, allowing fans to choose the main events and even allowing fans to help chose the fate of whether or not a wrestling hopeful gets a professional wrestling contract.

"We've always tried to keep connected with our fans and social media is a great way to do so," says TNA President Dixie Carter. "We've had a wonderful relationship with Twitter and we're glad to be able to use their technology to bring the experience to our fans in a new way."

The "Backstage Pass" allows fans to interact with the Superstars of IMPACT WRESTLING who appear on the television show as the show happens by sending questions via twitter using hashtags. The questions then get answered live via the live stream. The "Backstage Pass" also provides continuous coverage of live action in the ring when the show goes to commercial.
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Can't say they're not trying...love them or hate them...u got to give them credit for that...I particularly like being able to see the action during the break. So this suites me fine even though I've never use twitter.. this might get me to start.

What are your opinions of this move?

I think I know who's responsible for this...

 

[Rayne]

TNA/IW is the first entertainment company to stream live to Twitter, because no other entertainment company sees the point in streaming live to Twitter. Companies are catching on that Twitter is for celebrities to self-aggrandize and musicians to have free ticket contests.

On that note, however, self-aggrandization is what professional wrestling is all about. TNA/IW is doing anything they can to get a leg up, and I'll give all the props I can for that kind of attitude. Root, hog, or die. Individually this isn't news, but it demonstrates TNA/IW's desire to use 'new media' in ways that haven't previously been considered.

I don't know who's taken over in TNA/IW over the past six months or so, but it appears they're finally getting their shit together.

 

[Infinity]

Who cares, really? TNA just likes over hyping things by saying they are some sort of pioneer, but this is no different that WWE using Tout. It's a lame attempt at making more money.

 

[sTyLnK]

The only reason TNA went with Twitter was because no one else wants to. The WWE could have a long time ago and I'm sure the idea was tossed around, but in the end they probably decided it was pointless.

But to TNA, they figure they can spin it around to make it look like they were the first to "think of it" and to them it's "ground breaking". When in reality there's no point. At all. I suppose it's a positive thing because it's getting the name out there, but Twitter? Good Lord. Oh well, at least they're attempting to use social media more.

 

[wrestlemaniac]

been able to see post show and the during commercial footage via their site since start of this impact live thing. For me though...the tna site would sometimes freeze up or something..it's because of everything on the site... yea but I caught the stream of theirs on twitter this past thusday (their 1st try) and it worked flawlessly. so yea, i dig thay it's on twitter...for the rest of the month anyway

 

[Dizzy]

Lol

Some of these replies are a classic example of an inner WWE mark and a fan trying to act like they know something when they are clueless.

WWE has a paid agreement deal with Twitter (Tell me how nobody else wants to work with Twitter?), Youtube, Facebook and Tout. In fact, they own a piece of Tout (We know this already) but WWE's logic is trying to get the entire popular social media outlet involved with their product.

TNA is the first company to STREAM on Twitter. TNA has a paid agreement with Twitter also. WWE on the other hand, is focusing on using Tout because instead of texts or "tweets", you can actually post videos to WWE and towards WWE superstars (If you are ugly, god help you).

TNA is pretty much going to stick to Twitter while WWE is focusing heavily on Tout.

TNA has never said they were the first to think of it, they acknowledge they are the first to do it. Youtube streams live and now Twitter is beginning to catch on and TNA is now the first entertainment company that will be using this. It's pretty easy and simple.

TNA also COULD be the first company to stream a PPV over Twitter in the future. Which would increase popularity, buyrates overseas and better social connection.

It's a good platform considering like it or not, Twitter is the biggest social media name in the business.

Tout fits with WWE's concept but outside of that, It's a joke. Twitter and Youtube is where the world is at. TNA is making smart moves by sticking with those brands.

 

[GameOver]

WTF are u all talking about, WWF/E and WCW did this many years ago, sure "social media" the term didn't exist then but they both allowed fan interaction whether it be inferred or not and ultimately Fans money/reaction has always been had the ultimate sway of any given character..

Twitter sucks, it's just free SMS'ing, when did they add the ability to add pictures or video?. Twitter = mindless SMS posts in real time. atleast in Facebook and the like you can post your real thoughts not just "i don't like it" oh no you've run out of character space
not to mention streaming video online is convenient maybe but the speed of internet between different locations is so eratic it can be totally unwatchable, i know for instance coming from Australia i get premium speed if i'm connected to servers that are cached here but go outside and connect to servers in the US for instance is a tenth of the speed and 200times the ping which makes streamed video irritating to watch and it only gets worse from year to year, youtube is the worst for that, constantly stopping to buffer even when it's not behind the buffered amount. and Facebook's java for everything has become slower and slower over the past few years, can only assume it's the same or worse for other countries that have even slower internet connections to the global web.

as for fan's deciding decisions, WWF did it, WCW did it so how is TNA the pioneers? Noone remember PPV's like Taboo Tuesday? and Facebook and MySpace being used to interact with superstars b4 and after there matches? and you know it's all bullshit anyway, Booking decides who wins and loses and what matches/titles are "available" for choice not the fans.

and Gut Check is nothing more then dark matches on TV and shows like NXT/Tough Enough finale's at some point they can't book anyone else or they are gonna have too many "up and comers" and they can't even afford to book for the one's they already have

People Power is all a ruse....

Saying all that, if it improves the whole product and brings back fanbase to wrestling then good, but seriously i think social media is a curse more then a great benefit.

 

[ABMorales787]

Are you kidding me? People are pissing on this? TNA does something nice to expand their whole "new media" thing... Note that I say "nice", not "groundbreaking" and people moan about how "it means nothing" and how "WWE could've done it a long time ago". Who gives a shit if WWE could've done it? No fuck it means nothing. To you maybe. To a guy who spends countless hours on Twitter though, *pop* "Oh look, Impact". But yeah, I suppose that when they put up a new logo on the front office it's gonna "mean nothing" too. Because every fucking thing they do needs to blow the waters or it's doomed to look stupid.

WWE could've done it a long time ago? True. They probably don't though because that would mean less hits for their site and potential lower ratings. We all know how important that 0.00001 is after all. All in all, it's a nice move on TNA. Why people need to piss on it is beyond me really.

 

[tgrfan]

Are you kidding me? People are pissing on this? TNA does something nice to expand their whole "new media" thing... Note that I say "nice", not "groundbreaking" and people moan about how "it means nothing" and how "WWE could've done it a long time ago". Who gives a shit if WWE could've done it? No fuck it means nothing. To you maybe. To a guy who spends countless hours on Twitter though, *pop* "Oh look, Impact". But yeah, I suppose that when they put up a new logo on the front office it's gonna "mean nothing" too. Because every fucking thing they do needs to blow the waters or it's doomed to look stupid.

WWE could've done it a long time ago? True. They probably don't though because that would mean less hits for their site and potential lower ratings. We all know how important that 0.00001 is after all. All in all, it's a nice move on TNA. Why people need to piss on it is beyond me really.

exactly..if wwe had done this the same people would be saying how great of a move it is.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

"WWE could've done it"? "It's only special because nobody else wanted to?" Those sound like the excuses of butt hurt pro-WWE fans who don't want to acknowledge that TNA did something nice which the WWE didn't think of or didn't want to think of.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't revolutionary or anything. It's just a nice little idea and a way for TNA to expand their spectrum of services. Stream on "Twittah" all you want and good for you for being the FIRST company to do it.

Nobody gives a fuck if someone else "could have" done it first. You people sound like someone's aging dad sitting infront of the TV watching baseball and going "I can throw better than that. You know I could've been a fantastic baseball player right? Yeah I could". Yeah ... but you're not.

Good for TNA, shame on all the fuckers who wouldn't give them proper credit and shit on it so they can shrink its importance, however big or small it may be. It doesn't mean TNA is better or smarter than the WWE, girls. Nobody's going to think that. It just means TNA did something nice and that's as far as it goes. Now wash your faces, your make up is running.

 

[kor420]

The only reason TNA went with Twitter was because no one else wants to. The WWE could have a long time ago and I'm sure the idea was tossed around, but in the end they probably decided it was pointless.

But to TNA, they figure they can spin it around to make it look like they were the first to "think of it" and to them it's "ground breaking". When in reality there's no point. At all. I suppose it's a positive thing because it's getting the name out there, but Twitter? Good Lord. Oh well, at least they're attempting to use social media more.

How in the hell do you know what they thought of behind close doors? for all you know vince could be kicking himself in the arse right now, you don't know!

OP:

TNA shouldn't worry about twittha and worry about marketing. Which i guess is a good way to market IW and i would guess there would be some kind of notice on twitter telling everyone to watch the stream?

I Still think they should focus and market themselves heavily in the south east and build a gigantic following there instead of advertisements during raw.

 

[Infinity]

Lol @ anybody taking this seriously... whether they're pro or against. This will literally mean absolutely nothing in the long run. Won't effect story lines much, won't make a blip on ratings or buy rates, it won't bring in new fans or turn away old ones.

Personally, I hate any mention of social media on WWE or TNA. I use twitter, but I really don't care if Dolph Ziggler is trending world wide during a Dolph Ziggler match. I especially hate how wrestlers keep mentioning twitter in hopes of trending and/or gaining followers. Twitter felt like the theme of the Rock/Cena feud, Ziggler was desperately trying to get "Hashtag Heel" over, Trending Topics are constantly on the lower left hand corner of both shows, shameless plugs by Bully Ray or Zack Ryder or etc. It's all pretty annoying to me. Then WWE starts with this Tout crap.

In all honesty, 10 years from now can you imagine how stupid we'll be thinking this all was when we watch an old PPV? We'll literally be saying to ourselves "Wow, I remember when the world was obsessed with tweeting and Liking things on facebook." Imagine if 10 years ago John Cena and Dixie Carter were asking you to be their friends on MySpace as opposed to Follow them on Twitter... it's pathetic.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

Lol @ anybody taking this seriously... whether they're pro or against. This will literally mean absolutely nothing in the long run. Won't effect story lines much, won't make a blip on ratings or buy rates, it won't bring in new fans or turn away old ones.

Personally, I hate any mention of social media on WWE or TNA. I use twitter, but I really don't care if Dolph Ziggler is trending world wide during a Dolph Ziggler match. I especially hate how wrestlers keep mentioning twitter in hopes of trending and/or gaining followers. Twitter felt like the theme of the Rock/Cena feud, Ziggler was desperately trying to get "Hashtag Heel" over, Trending Topics are constantly on the lower left hand corner of both shows, shameless plugs by Bully Ray or Zack Ryder or etc. It's all pretty annoying to me. Then WWE starts with this Tout crap.

In all honesty, 10 years from now can you imagine how stupid we'll be thinking this all was when we watch an old PPV? We'll literally be saying to ourselves "Wow, I remember when the world was obsessed with tweeting and Liking things on facebook." Imagine if 10 years ago John Cena and Dixie Carter were asking you to be their friends on MySpace as opposed to Follow them on Twitter... it's pathetic.

In all honesty Twitter and Facebook aren't Myspace and Friendster. Right now MySpace is barely over the 20 million users mark. That's absolutely nothing. FB and Twitter are here for the long run. In 2011 Twitter had about 100 million active users and in 2012 they have 500 million. Facebook ... well you can imagine that Twitter's user base is a fraction of Facebook's.

Like it or not these outlets are used for a reason. It's the cheapest form of advertising TNA or WWE can get their hands on with one of the largest audiences out there. Unlike TV it's not limited to a slot or a nation. It's anywhere, anytime.

So I'd have to disagree with your projections. I really don't think Facebook and Twitter will die off. If anything they're growing and the number of people using them is increasing exponentially. The reason why I believe they won't fade away is because social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter usually die because they're replaced with a better one. The users don't just quit. In Facebook's case, billions of people won't decide to simply stop using Facebook because if they do then they'll have no other social media website to scratch that itch. No Facebook, no legit social media. At this point the majority of the people can't live without social media or their nifty little smartphones. They just won't do it. Also take into account that Facebook is a bit more "serious" when it comes to connecting with others and a lot of users are there in order to connect with lost friends and family, for them to quit their families and friends would have to as well. The kids, teenagers and young adults won't quit either because of, once again, the connection with their friends PLUS the fact that it's so easy to organize and promote events on Facebook. It's so user friendly. AND then you have all the money they rake in and the expanding spectrum of services ... nah, Facebook's solidified for a decade at least.


It's not a phase it's a thing now. That's why MySpace is pretty much dead in the water. People started using Facebook which proved to be far better, and couple that with MySpace becoming worse and boring, the user-friendly Facebook squashed them. I really don't see a service now or in the future that can steal away billions of users. This isn't MySpace with their shitty little user base. It's Facebook. Reminds me a lot of the TNA and WWE debate. Yeah there might be a service out there that has some things that the popular one doesn't, but all the popular one has to do is steal those ideas and people will never know about the smaller one. Microsoft and Apple have been doing it for ages. So have Facebook and Twitter and so has the WWE and TNA. It's just how it goes and there's nothing wrong with it. These things ain't dying. It's just the beginning.

However I can't blame you for being annoyed by it. I'm using Twitter as much as I do Facebook, but even I get annoyed by some of the things TNA and WWE pull off. In the end it comes down to being smart with it and using it intelligently. TNA has been much more successful in that department. They are far more in-tune with the nature of social media than WWE ever could. WWE shoves it in your face and screams "BUY THIS WATCH THIS BUY IT NOW NOW GIVE US MONEY!!!!" and it's so damn obvious. They use it to aggrandize themselves and nine times out of ten make up facts. Users nowadays are so used to people trying to sell something to them that they can see right through the ordinary advertisment tactics and it turns them off. They like creative shit. Yeah the point of marketing IS to shove something in people's faces and make them buy it, but people want it to be a little less obvious and to make YOU want it. Nobody likes to be told what to like and purchase. 90% of the time WWE says someone is trending worldwide he either isn't or did for just a second. It's annoying. TNA on the other hand actually offer more user friendly options and things that are rather cool and you would use.

Good for TNA, they'll make some money out of it at least. Ain't nothing wrong with making money.

 

[braveh]

Unlike TV it's not limited to a slot or a nation. It's anywhere, anytime.

The "trending now" chart is regional. You can choose what country you want for that chart.