Plans In Place to Keep TNA Live on Thursdays; Will Remain Live Through September

[It's Damn Real!]

This from AllWrestling.com via PWInsider.com:

According to a new report by PWInsider, Spike TV has indicated that there are new plans to possibly keep Impact Wrestling as a live weekly broadcast on Thursday nights.

Original plans called for the show to only run for just the summer time, and then go back to being taped on Monday and Tuesday nights.

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Frankly, I can't say enough about how positive of a sign this is, as not only does it mean that we continue to get a live broadcast (the likes of which have been tremendous since the move), but it also says that SpikeTV and TNA are likely very, very happy with the result of the move in the first place, which means business is likely picking up.

I know it's minor to a lot of folks, but I truly believe that if you can prohibit the possibility of spoiler results which often find their way to the 'net when a show is taped days in advance, you truly eliminate a large portion of the audience who may not tune in after having read them despite their often obvious bias and lack of context.

Thoughts on this?

 

[Zeven_Zion]

I'm actually surprised. TNA has been pulling horrid ratings since the live shift but I guess Spike sees beyond that?

Whatever the reason I hope they stay live. The product seems better and the crowds are more alive. Plus I love the fact that I no longer have access to spoilers. Even though I rarely read them there was ALWAYS some cunt who drops the spoilers in a YouTube comment or spoils everything in a thread here.

Stay live fellas. It's good.

 

[jerry20xx]

Good for TNA. The ratings did suck, maybe someone in TNA did some "persuading". Anyway, when VKM hears of this, he will either bring NXT back to cable television on a Thursday night or debut WWE Main Event on Thursday's.

He'll do something to counter this.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

Good for TNA. The ratings did suck, maybe someone in TNA did some "persuading". Anyway, when VKM hears of this, he will either bring NXT back to cable television on a Thursday night or debut WWE Main Event on Thursday's.

He'll do something to counter this.

When will wrestling fans snap out of it? THERE ARE NO WARS GOING ON ANYMORE! It happened once, it worked once, it was good ONCE. Vince won't do anything to "counter" this. It's not a move toward Vince or his company. Chances are, McMahon couldn't give a damn if TNA had a show every day of the week.

I'm sure he's aware of TNA and is aware of the potential for them to grow, but even if they do they still won't be big enough to rival him.

It's over, let it go, it won't happen again.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

Yeah surprised about this since I don't think ratings have actually increased in any way since going live but I'm extremely happy since I don't care about the ratings lol the product has been awesome live so hopefully it will carry on that way!

 

[Dagger Dias]

Fantastic news. I have enjoyed the live editions of Impact and it will surely keep bringing in more viewers since people who skip due to knowing results from spoilers will be more likely to watch. If TNA can maintain their momentum then they will continue to grow. There are still going to be people who skip watching it, even without there being any spoilers, but they will miss out on a great show each week. I hope they remain in the live format permanently, it's a huge step in the right direction for the federation. Fingers are crossed that they never return to the taped format.... The ratings may not have skyrocketed, but this can potentially increase them. Goodness knows the previous format wasn't getting them any larger amounts of viewers.

 

[Lowdown]

I say good for TNA if they're bale to stay live. It was a slow start, but Impact has been progressing over the last several weeks. Business must be good for this to even be considered. Kudos!

 

[Champ1432]

I'm with the majority here. I'm stoked about this and I hope it comes to pass. I am a bit surprised about it since, as others have touched on, the ratings have not had a significant increase since going live. Back when they originally hyped their switch to a live format for the summer, I hoped that the ratings would increase enough to make them consider keeping it live going past the summer. When that didn't happen, I feared they would turn tail and go back to recording shows as soon as they could to save money. But now we have a ray of hope that perhaps they will stay live after all, even despite the lack of a large ratings boost. Maybe someone at Spike actually cares about the quality of a show as well as ratings, shocking as that would be.

I just really hope they stay live. I've enjoyed the show more since they've gone live, I think the quality continues to improve, and I think they're really doing a good job in most aspects. One of the biggest knocks on TNA is the production quality, and they do still need to make improvements there. But I think the show is so much better live. Plus, there is the advantage of no spoilers being available, as others have said. I think that's actually a big deal. People will want to know what's happening, especially if they keep things interesting as they have been lately. With no spoilers to read, they'll have to tune in. Ratings will go up. Probably slowly, but they will go up. It just needs time.

Fingers crossed that this happens and Impact stays live past the summer. It would be awesome.

 

[HBsam31]

I was hoping they would be able to continue running live. I have enjoyed Impact so much more. I think it adds to a show, and the wrestlers give it that much more when it is live. It has been a great summer for IW, and this is a small sign that things are really looking up for them. I hope it works out and I hope they keep improving as I think they have a really good product right now.

 

[theshadowranger]

When will wrestling fans snap out of it? THERE ARE NO WARS GOING ON ANYMORE! It happened once, it worked once, it was good ONCE. Vince won't do anything to "counter" this. It's not a move toward Vince or his company. Chances are, McMahon couldn't give a damn if TNA had a show every day of the week.

I'm sure he's aware of TNA and is aware of the potential for them to grow, but even if they do they still won't be big enough to rival him.

It's over, let it go, it won't happen again.

At least not a war involving WWE. I could see another company like ROH or another indy promotion growing big enough to challenge TNA. While I'm NOT and ROH fan at all, I'd like to see them get bigger and one day go to 2 hours and challenge TNA on Thursdays. I'd rather see a resurgence of the NWA to one day challenge TNA but ROH is in a better position to do so.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I think its important for TNA to remain live. Having your show on TV as it happens takes away the possibility for Spoilers, which result in a lot of fans reading the results of a show and then deciding not to bother watching it when it is shown on TV a few days later. I am as guilty of doing this as many others.

Plus, going Live usually results in livelier fans at the event and gets the adrenaline flowing for the wrestlers too, as they are under pressure to perform for the live audience with no chance of bits being cut or edited to remove the mistakes.

This is definitely a good move for TNA to try and secure a permenant LIVE spot on TV, and another step forward for the company if it comes off.

 

[Rayne]

It's shit or get off the pot, and it looks like TNA/IW and Spike are pulling out their smartphones and getting comfortable.

TNA/IW and Spike have both seemed a little reluctant to make big commitments- and understandably so- after their 2010 spending spree didn't pan out into a long-term improvement. But on the same token, if they aren't willing to make risky capital investments into their product, they are condemning themselves to slow, tepid growth even in a best case scenario. The cliche is "you have to spend money to make money", which is absolutely true.

I don't think going live will be a growth-driver for TNA/IW. People aren't going to tune in simply because it's live television. However, it prevents growth from being inhibited. IDR is absolutely right when he says people don't tune in because they think they know what will happen; Eric Bischoff used that idea to great effect during the early days of the Monday Night Wars.

Committing to live television is a strong vote of confidence- without knowing the financials on it, I can't say if it's TNA/IW spending more of their money to produce a product Spike will pay more for in the future, or if it's Spike committing their money as an investment in TNA/IW. (I'd lean towards the former. Spike's last contract with TNA/IW was a 2-year deal, which would allow Spike to retain options for later on should TNA/IW not work out.) Regardless of whose capital it is, it's a statement that someone with cash feels that TNA/IW is worth investing in.

 

[IT Factor]

Spike TV would be morons to take Impact Wrestling off of live Thursday nights. Impact Wrestling is the only real consistent show they have. Other than that, what do they have? "World's Worst Tenants"? "1,000 ways to die"? WWE programming didn't get big ratings in their first few years on USA and TNA won't until they have become a mainstay type of show on a consistent network. Being live on Thursdays is a big step in the right direction and I hope Spike keeps TNA right where they are. Going back to taped shows will be a major blow to Impact Wrestling and it'll stop them from being any better than they currently are. The element is surprize will either make or break TNA. Spike should be able to see that as well. They need to take a risk and gamble with TNA despite bad ratings. Ratings will be there eventually.

 

[CleverName51]

I'm a WWE Fan. I tried watching TNA a few times over the years and I honestly never really got into it...HOWEVER...

I watched TNA's last PPV with a friend (the one where Aries beat Roode) and I liked what I saw for the first time...well ever from TNA

Now, with TNA being live, I see it as a chance for me to maybe give them a chance. Someone mentioned reading spoilers earlier- I did a lot of that with TNA...but, now, with what seems to be good programming and a live show- I'm willing to watch for the next 3-4 weeks to see if I like it...if they keep up the good work, I'll probably tune in full time

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I hope they stick with it, I enjoy it much more that way. I can't really explain it but it just feels like it has a bigger feel. There are no spoilers to ruin things, you don't have the edited in cheers and boos and it just makes it feel like a more legitimate show. Impact will never overtake Raw for me but a live Impact is better than a taped Smackdown

 

[MINISTRYrising]

fantastic news. hope tna stick to live broadcasts. like everybody said if the show is taped then most already know what is going to happen before the show even airs. i think this has shown lately with the increase in viewing figures. keep it up tna.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

@TNADixie:

Excited to say Impact will remain live thru September. Stay tuned for more!

Once again, huge, huge, huge for TNA. It may seem minor, and the ratings may not be completely behind it just yet, but the live programs have truly done wonders for the company IMO, and it's only a matter of time before it's reflective in the ratings.

 

[ABMorales787]

Hope they reach October live. That's a pretty crucial time to keep interest up for TNA with Bound For Glory set by that point. The bigger the advantage leading to the big show, the bigger the profit and if the profit is good enough, TNA can keep pushing for more having the proof that they can be successful live and that it does help the program.

 

[shattered dreams]

Hope they reach October live.

That is how I feel as well. It would be nice if they could stay live until at least the show after BFG and then re-evaluate. I love the show being live and that is all I really care about. I don't own the company. For all we know Spike is picking up a lot of the bill for it anyway. As far as the ratings go people might be looking at things incorrectly. Summer is a bad season for wrestling ratings and the general trend in the industry is a decrease in ratings. Pulling a 1.1 in July is far from bad, even if that was only one week. It seems plenty possible to me that the ratings could have been significantly worse without the live aspect especially considering the way the ratings started out this summer. Since the story they are telling now benefits from the uncertainty of live tv, and may be starting to show a trend in the right direction, then this fall could conceivably get a boost.

 

[Rayne]

Hope they reach October live. That's a pretty crucial time to keep interest up for TNA with Bound For Glory set by that point. The bigger the advantage leading to the big show, the bigger the profit and if the profit is good enough, TNA can keep pushing for more having the proof that they can be successful live and that it does help the program.

If they don't make it to October live, panic. It won't be the end of TNA/IW in November, but it would be an incredibly loud signal that either SpikeTV has lost faith in TNA/IW's ability to grow like they've been expected to, or that TNA/IW is unwilling to invest the cash necessary to further their growth.

Going live is a statement. It isn't cheap to run a live broadcast as compared to a taped one. The margin for error is much smaller. It's putting money where mouths are, and if you aren't spending money (wisely), you aren't going to grow. If you want to be a big-time player in 'sports' television, you simply have to be live. Why bother watching the Red Sox on tape delay when I can find out that they've already lost 6-3?

Going back to taped Impact! would signal a retreat, and TNA/IW is too far into their rebranding at this point for yet another tactical retreat. The product is better than it has been in a very long time. If SpikeTV / TNA/IW aren't willing to commit to what they have now, they never will be.

 

[midgensa]

This is GREAT NEWS for TNA and for wrestling fans.

It is clearly a sign that Spike is investing into TNA and trusting them and it is a sign that TNA brass understands the IMMENSE value in live television as opposed to pre-taping (especially that taping shit weeks in advance shit they would do).

I have tuned in without fail EVERY week since it has gone live because I have no idea what is going to happen. I think that speaks volumes about the all-consumed wrestling fan that is out there. If you love and watch a ton of wrestling, you simply like LIVE shit better than taped stuff.

Even when I didn't read spoilers, it always felt different than it feels when watching it live.

There is really nothing negative to say here, this is at worst a small plus for TNA and their relationship with Spike and at best can be a springboard to better ratings in the future.