[Rumor] TNA's Average PPV Buys

[Jack-Hammer]

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the average pay-per-view event broadcast by TNA, draws approximately 17,000 buys in North America. Information on an international basis isn't provided. The WON states that, in comparison, the averageTNA pay-per-view in 2007 drew 26,500 buys in North America.

Of course, Meltzer covers his ass by stating that this is information gathered from sources in TNA. Whoever these sources are, you can be certain it's not Dixie Carter.

Now, there's probably no way that we'll know if these figures are entirely accurate because, unlike WWE, TNA isn't a publicly traded company. They're under no legal obligation to make information such as this available. At any rate, it's an interesting little tidbit of discussion.

I know that some consider anything Meltzer puts out to be Gospel but, remember, these are still rumors so don't go jumping down my throat.

 

[Dizzy]

This seems believable. I remember Observer saying something about 8,000 PPV buys. Which is total bullshit.

17,500 buys seem more accurate to me. TNA and WWE's buyrates are extremely low nowadays with today's economy, It's difficult to sell PPVs.

From what I've heard, LockDown and Bound For Glory remain the top selling PPVs.

 

[MrHashasheen]

If anything it'd make sense it'd be a lot less, though not that much. A large chunk of TNA's fans are anti-WWE internet smarks. Smarks who'd find internet streams for PPVs, watch the show online & other things to get around paying for it.

 

[rokuma]

Here's my question....with PPV buys so low and with TNA's product still relatively unknown, should they go with LESS PPV's (for instance old school WWF-style with 4 a year) and then some Saturday Night Main Event or Clash of the Champion-esque supershows on Spike? Would this fly? I think it would and it would probably save them money. I would imagine costs on PPV's (especially with free tickets at the Impact Zone) have to exceed what they're getting in return right?

 

[RD_21]

Here's my question....with PPV buys so low and with TNA's product still relatively unknown, should they go with LESS PPV's (for instance old school WWF-style with 4 a year) and then some Saturday Night Main Event or Clash of the Champion-esque supershows on Spike? Would this fly? I think it would and it would probably save them money. I would imagine costs on PPV's (especially with free tickets at the Impact Zone) have to exceed what they're getting in return right?

No, keep the same number of PPV but lower the price. I don't order WWE PPV because I don't want to spend 50$ on that so why would I do it on TNA. They should try to capture people like me, I won't pay 50$ for WWE but hey TNA's PPV is 20$ in a week, cool I will pay for that instead.

You see I was SUPER hyped for 10.10.10, was planning on ordering it, my first TNA PPV, I was really invested in the story and all and wanted to give them a chance for a PPV. I went to order it and saw 50$ HD, it was an immediate f that. If it would have been 30$ I would have order it on the spot but not 50$.

The WWE will need to lower their price soon too, they are not UFC.

 

[Dizzy]

Here's my question....with PPV buys so low and with TNA's product still relatively unknown, should they go with LESS PPV's (for instance old school WWF-style with 4 a year) and then some Saturday Night Main Event or Clash of the Champion-esque supershows on Spike? Would this fly? I think it would and it would probably save them money. I would imagine costs on PPV's (especially with free tickets at the Impact Zone) have to exceed what they're getting in return right?

They would have to lower the cost of PPVs. As much as the Impact Zone is free for attending, TNA makes money still by a VIP package plan that costs $100.

So, TNA still makes some profit out of the Impact Zone. The Against All Odds VIP Package plan was sold out, so imagine how much profit they make from that.

TNA is actually doing the Free TV PPV style shows. They've had Super Impact, Whole Fn' Show, Before The Glory, etc.

I think they should rebrand a new PPVs and make them look a little better but overall, I don't see a problem with what they are doing. LockDown, Hardcore Justice and Bound For Glory have the highest buyrates of the year.

I believe Hardcore Justice drew 21,000 buys, Bound For Glory drew close to 40,000 buys.

 

[immortaln8ball]

i belive it i mean watched against all odds through a stream so im glad i didnt waste my money. Lately tna ppv have been garbage im more excited to see wwe elimination chamber and mania id pay 50 or 60 for those but TNA is not that good or big like wwe ppv.

 

[rokuma]

I agree with both of you. Lowering ticket prices isn't just a must for TNA but WWE as well. I was dismayed that the Royal Rumble cost $45 on PPV and to be streamed online. Are you kidding me? That's absurd. With the economy the way it is in the US, most people do not want to pay that.

 

[The Holy One]

I feel TNA should try to have the PPVs outside of the Impact Zone. I'm not saying having every iMPACT broadcast out of the place but the PPVs should at least be. I watched AAO and the PPVs b/w it and BFG and felt that they all had the feeling of a normal iMPACT show. The stage may have been altered some but it still felt like an iMPACT episode with some added flare. BFG, Lockdown, and I think Slammiversary (not really sure but it was held outside of it one year) all were held outside of the Zone and actually had the PPV feel to it for me. It might be just a small change of scenery but it would really help I feel it would really help improve the image of their PPVs.

 

[iamcountrymusic]

Its believable, although sad. But with the state of TNA now and all their shitty storylines and screwjobs, it makes sense.
The product has gotten so bad that a lot of fans don't even watch Impact anymore and just read spoilers (me included).
No PPV since 2009 has been worth ordering IMO, and until they take the production quality seriously or even just move out of the Impact Zone once a month, they'll continue to look cheap.

Have the buys always been that number, or have they just been since Hogan and Bischoff came in?

 

[RVDisTNA]

Even if it has gone down, you have remember and factor in the fact that sites like Justin.TV and Stream-Scene stream the PPv's for free. Which wasn't happening alot back 4 years ago. I see thousands of people on those sites for PPV.

 

[Dizzy]

Its believable, although sad. But with the state of TNA now and all their shitty storylines and screwjobs, it makes sense.
The product has gotten so bad that a lot of fans don't even watch Impact anymore and just read spoilers (me included).
No PPV since 2009 has been worth ordering IMO, and until they take the production quality seriously or even just move out of the Impact Zone once a month, they'll continue to look cheap.

Have the buys always been that number, or have they just been since Hogan and Bischoff came in?

Really? Cause about a week ago, TNA drew about 2.1 million viewers and have been on a high ratings streak as of late. Too bad nobody watches it right?

It has nothing to do with the Impact zone or looking cheap. Only some idiot wrestling community would use that as a reason.

Fact is TNA and WWE are drawing low buyrates since nobody is willing to pay that much. People would rather pay to watch 3 PPVs out of the 12 TNA airs and people would rather order Wrestlemania over the lame PPVs WWE provides every year.

If LockDown, Hardcore Justice and Bound For Glory was filled with shitty storylines and screwjobs how in the world did the PPVs become the highest bought?

Then explain to me how did the Post-PPV Impacts after each one of those PPVs be highly rated?

 

[user2011]

Reality is that is must be low because TNA isn't releasing this info to the public, but once they get the numbers IE increased attendance or ratings they start "touting" it on twitter

 

[The Suplexer Perfecter]

I wouldn't be surprised. If they were anywhere near good to great they'd brag about it like they brag about getting a high rating for one show.

 

[VencomHardcore]

Really? Cause about a week ago, TNA drew about 2.1 million viewers and have been on a high ratings streak as of late. Too bad nobody watches it right?

It has nothing to do with the Impact zone or looking cheap. Only some idiot wrestling community would use that as a reason.

Fact is TNA and WWE are drawing low buyrates since nobody is willing to pay that much. People would rather pay to watch 3 PPVs out of the 12 TNA airs and people would rather order Wrestlemania over the lame PPVs WWE provides every year.

If LockDown, Hardcore Justice and Bound For Glory was filled with shitty storylines and screwjobs how in the world did the PPVs become the highest bought?

Then explain to me how did the Post-PPV Impacts after each one of those PPVs be highly rated?

TWO WEEK BUMP IN NUMBERS IS NOT A STREAK ! Get back to reality. TNA has not been able to consistently pull a 1.5 for at least a month. So lets get real here. TNA's PPV's are suffering because of price and overbooking.

I looked at the last card and knew it wasn't nothing to pay for. I streamed it. And yes I am a TNA fan that purchases T-shirts instead of the ppvs.

I do agree if they would lower the price to $20 maybe even stream it themselves for about $15 like ROH, Keep the finishes simple, have clean wins and ONLY have wrestlers on the PPV that can put on great matches then more could invest in the company. This means no ok matches but great match ups from top to bottom.

Production quality means nothing to me because great matches can cause fans to ignore the quality. Ask any ROH fan. We all know the production looks like my kid brother did it at best but that can't stop fans from buying the product.

 

[ramblinroy682]

All I know is that I watched it through my computer...the site where I watched it from had anywhere from 3000-4000 at any given time on there. What would happen if they could shut down sites that stream it for free illegally? They might get another 5-8000 buys.

 

[TUFFY54]

I believe it. Jim Cornette said in an interview that TNA was struggeling to get a tenth of the PPV buys the WWE had. These numbers add up to that.

 

[shattered dreams]

If they are correct it doesn't seem that bad. If TNA did an average of 5000 non-north america buys per show then they would be down exactly the same percent WWE ppvs are. The money from the buys would be about 750,000 dollars from north america . It is doubtful they would cut down on shows because it would seem likely they can produce one for less than that and questionable if they could really expect the other shows to substantially increase in buys, especially enough to make up the difference. They also get money from the packages they sell and DVDs etc.

 

[The Suplexer Perfecter]

If they are correct it doesn't seem that bad. If TNA did an average of 5000 non-north america buys per show then they would be down exactly the same percent WWE ppvs are. The money from the buys would be about 750,000 dollars from north america . It is doubtful they would cut down on shows because it would seem likely they can produce one for less than that and questionable if they could really expect the other shows to substantially increase in buys, especially enough to make up the difference. They also get money from the packages they sell and DVDs etc.

PPV companies also get a good chunk out of the buys too, don't forget that.

 

[shattered dreams]

PPV companies also get a good chunk out of the buys too, don't forget that.

I wasn't.

The use of average can be misleading though. If these numbers are correct and if BFG and/or Lockdown do significantly more than the other shows it would seem possible that the worst shows would be borderline on making money or not when you factor in all expenses like the PPV company take, paying talent and staff, costs surrounding filming etc. If the worst shows actually do not make money then it could be a decent idea to change the model some. I suspect they at least break even on them though and the potential to grow them into more than that is too enticing to pass up.

 

[Calderownz]

Makes sense. They'd be lower, I'd assume. Regardless of what the official numbers are, I'd assume that a drop occurred. With the newly-acquired availability of live streams, it only makes sense.

Nonetheless, those numbers are a bit disappointing, if they are true. They get ROUGHLY 1/3 of the WWE audience but don't receive 1/3 of the PPV buys. However, it's hard to trust a smaller company, I suppose.

Still, I'm someone that generally DOESN'T believe what Meltzer says as he's become somewhat of a mark for himself.

Either way, it'd be nice to see if these numbers increase over the coming months as TNA get fully involved in their new direction.

 

[JaredJammer]

I have a hard time believing that the PPV figures would drop off so dramatically given that the ratings have removed nearly identical. The PPV booking and promoting hasn't been that bad. I suspect this could be anti-Bischoff/Hogan propaganda.