TNA Having Financial Problems?

[16mikeytot]

One oft-overlooked factor in TNA?s destiny to compete with rival promotion World Wrestling Entertainment are the added expenses entailed.Since January, the company has ballooned its roster to over 70 performers with the notable additions of high priced stars such as Ric Flair, Rob Van Dam, Jeff Hardy and the former Mr. Kennedy. Furthermore, the company has added the costly expense of going live every other Monday night and promotion of said move (i.e. airing commercials during Monday Night Rawand running Billboards in Times Square). Other than slight bumps in house show attendance and merchandise sales, TNA has to little to show for its efforts. In fact, ratings are at its lowest levels in four years due to the move to Monday nights.Wrestling Observereditor Dave Meltzer cryptically said during a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radiothat TNA is having bigger financial problems than most realize. What do you guys think of this? Should Tna have brought in all those big names? Was it worth? Time will tell.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It's extremely difficult to know what TNA's financial situations is because that's information that TNA management has been able to keep locked up tighter than Fort Knox. Since TNA isn't a publicly traded company, obtaining financial statements about the company's revenue is pretty much impossible and only a handful of people would probably have access to it anyhow.

There's been speculation as to how much money TNA makes, what it's profit margin is and all that stuff for a long time. As far as their roster goes, most of the talent signed with TNA works on a paid by appearance basis. Only a handful on the roster have guaranteed contracts and most of them are the older and more established wrestlers that TNA has. So, since TNA doesn't use a hefty portion of its roster on a regular basis, they're not really out any money because if they don't appear on the shows, they don't get paid.

 

[shattered dreams]

I do not think people overlook that factor too much. It seems like there is a thread about just about every one of those guys asking if they are worth it or not. While it is inescapable that they have taken on more salary recently without a whole lot to show for it yet, I kind of doubt they were not prepared for this.

While they did add the guys you mention they also have recently bid farewell to Booker t, Scott Steiner and Lashley. They seem to be committed to the long-term with the product which would be a foolish decision if they were in that deep at the moment. It was likely an opportunity cost to buildup some debt now with the idea that they could make it back later. I would also hazard a guess that merchandise is doing better than some might realize and is about to improve even more because they seem to be doing a decent job promoting it now compared to what they used to do. So, yes time will tell. If they cannot grow the rating they are probably in trouble but if they do then I doubt it will be an issue. If they never signed any of those guys they would have basically been accepting mediocrity in their niche. At least this way they seem to have a chance to grow but it does come with more risk.

 

[gd]

Considering TNA's financial "problems" are completely based on speculation at this point, there's really no reason way to criticize them for it. Are they having troubles? Possibly, but neither you nor I are going to know that. Adding a few performers probably jacked up the payroll a bit, but I can't imagine going live could've added that much financial pressure.

This seems just like another overaction to the whole move to Monday's. It's been 3 freaking weeks. Of course the ratings are lower and of course the money may not exactly be pouring in, but I don't think anyone could've expect anything different at this point.

 

[ABMorales787]

If TNA had financial problems, I'm pretty sure the last thing they'd do is gamble. The iMPACT! Zone is still free. Out of a 60 man roster only 15-20 are used regularly and as mentioned talent is paid per appearance. You gotta remeber, Panda Energy is TNA's wallet. We don't know if Pope and Angle's 6 Hour Power plugs have brought extra revenue. TNA gains money from itself and an added bonus from Panda. If TNA is going through such expenses in such a tough moment that must mean things are good.

 

[#hamler]

First of all, they need to cut stupid wrestlers like Brian Knobbs, Jeremy Buk, Jesse Neal, Kiyoshio Max Buck, Rhino, Shark boy, Rob terry isn’t TNA material, Tomko, Bubba the love sponge, Don West, Jimmy Hart, SoCal Val, and hell I’d fire Hogan. Bischoff is enough for TNA. I just don't see how they can have over 70 wrestlers and keep them fresh and put them in matches with only two hours of iMPACT each week. maybe it's time for a brand extension for TNA??? That might hurt them money wise at first but then they could get money. they could even put one show on monday nights and one on friday nights...Think about it, TNA has 70 active wrestlers, RAW with only 20 to thirty. it's easier to use 30 guys in 2 hours then 70 guys in 2 hours.
Or if they're having real financial problems, they can always call Vince. I'm sure Vince would be more than happy to help them out. HAHA

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[Suneeboy]

Who cares. Let's just watch and enjoy the product. If they go bankrupt or whatever, so what, we'll move on. We are trying to delve into areas of wrestling that shouldn't really concern us. Some people will look at this post, then speculate and then follow it up with more nonsense.

Like others have said, its not a publicly traded company, so why should we give two shits about how much they make unless we were working for them or had some sort of a vested interest in the promotion? They are a private company, they'll manage.

Let's get back to watching wrestling.

 

[Pedro08]

Finances are exactly why TNA stays in the Impact zone: free rent, gaurenteed full house and no expence of having to haul production trailers across the country.

There is no doubt TNA has taken on alot of salary with the additions of Hogan, Bischoff, Flair, Anderson, Hardy and RVD. Their main revenue stream is Spike TV. Merchandising and house shows appear to have gotten better, but their PPV buyrates are lousy.

I don't know if TNA is in financial trouble. I don't think they are hemorrhaging money, but I don't know if they are making any. My guess is that they are breaking even.

 

[#hamler]

Yeah your probably right. They don't need money for much. they don't travel but they do have some greedy big names on their roster. First of all, they need to cut stupid wrestlers like Brian Knobbs, Jeremy Buk, Jesse Neal, Kiyoshi, Max Buck, Rhino, Shark boy, Rob terry isn’t TNA material, Tomko, Bubba the love sponge, Don West, Jimmy Hart, SoCal Val, and hell I’d fire Hogan. Bischoff is enough for TNA. I just don't see how they can have over 70 wrestlers and keep them fresh and put them in matches with only two hours of iMPACT each week. maybe it's time for a brand extension for TNA??? That might hurt them money wise at first but then they could get money. they could even put one show on monday nights and one on friday nights...Think about it, TNA has 60-70 active wrestlers, RAW with only 20 to thirty. it's easier to use 30 guys in 2 hours then 70 guys in 2 hours.
Or if they're having real financial problems, they can always call Vince. I'm sure Vince would be more than happy to help them out. HAHA

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[Greenlight13]

You'd hope that somebody in charge wouldn't allow them to make these moves if they didn't think they could afford it. I was under the impression Hogan bought a large amount of the company so surely his injection of cash has helped them afford the new talent?

The main thing working against them in this war they've decided to start is that WWE has billions of dollars and a great deal of name-branding. That money and fame didn't come overnight, it took decades to amass. TNA's been around for nearly 9 years. They simply aren't going to match WWE's money and branding in that space of time. They have a slight advantage over the infant WWE due to the technology that exists these days, which is why they've made more progress in 9 years than the WWE did, but even so it is a very large mountain to climb.

WCW had Ted Turner's blank checkbook, and you better believe they wouldn't have managed to challenge WWE if not for that money. TNA want to win this war now when really they need another few years to gather their troops and fortify themselves. I don't see how they can compete financially in the here and now.

 

[WWE*FAN*CB]

Well I say yes all the financial problems are worth it. You look at all the risks Vince McMahon took..you think he's always been a billonnare? How do you think he became one? He took risks. TNA is doing the right thing and thats a lot coming from me since im a WWE guy. They have SO much starpower but most are being misused mostly due to Vince Russo's writing syle. I mean the guy is still living in the 90's when society accpeted the TV-14 stuff but Vince said it himself a few days ago...times have changed and WWE changed along with it. They need 2 brands to put all theese guys they added and then they can be properly used. Its all about risks.

 

[XgringolocoX]

I really don't care what financial state TNA is in. I don't care if Dixie spends her father's last dime. Start with making good tv. Dump Hogan, Flair, TNBs, etc.
Push a wrestling based show with amazing performers (which they have in abundance) and stop putting over hasbeens that did nothing for your product as the gods who saved it. Hogan has done NOTHING so far. Complete waste of money.
Did I answer the question? If not fuck it. Dumb ass topic.

 

[classicviolence]

I always wondered if TNA was making profit or if they were just breaking even. None the less, I would like to guess that TNA is just breaking even. Hogan, Sting, RVD, Jeff Hardy, Kennedy, Bischoff, Angle and Jeff Jarrett are the big money guys that TNA has to pay. I even read that TNA has to pay Jarrett 1 million dollars annually since the merger with Panda. So the talent expense must be pretty high.

Majority of the guys work a pay on apperance schedule which is good for TNA, but then they risk the chance of guys getting upset (ala Jerry Lynn) and wanting to do other things. If i was TNA i would make the product similar to how ROH on HD net is, except with 2 or 3 main story arcs instead of 5 or 6 that TNA is running now.

Nobody wants WCW 2.0 or WWE 2. People need something different from TNA and the ratings are reflecting that. Stop the shit booking and shit storylines.

 

[boozinjedi]

In the world of wrestling promotions...Goliath doesn't always fall to David!!

The last "small time" promotion to even come close to competing on the big stage was the original ECW,Heyman was amazing in booking and storylines,letting wrestlers try different styles,etc.,He just couldn't balance his finances worth a shit!!

TNA has to do something remarkable if they want to stay in the limelight...they have nowhere near the pockets to compete with Vince!!

 

[ChrisNutter]

Need we remember that WCW for YEARS and I believe a DECADE, did not turn a profit until 1995/1996, however they hit that year and made a ton of money the following years, more than just about any other Turner venture/product during that time.

I wouldn't be worried about TNA's financial portfolio at the moment, sometimes you need to spend money to make money, and just as WCW had and in fact WWE, when Vince went from just a territory to a traveling promotion and paid big money for territory champions, such as Mr. Perfect, the Legion of Doom, Roddy Piper, Hulk Hogan, he was having financial trouble and if in fact a little known fact to some if Wrestlemania had in fact flopped and not done well then the WWF could have actually gone back to a territory only group or worse, gone bankrupt because of Vince McMahon so let's not go worrying too much about TNA's finances at the moment.

 

[CuddleBuns84]

TNA is on a small network. Spike isn't that huge. Not also that, but they added some decent names to the company. So this might be a rough year with TNA, because they haven't really established their own fan base. They have just be leaching a small amount of WWE fan base. So their is a good chance that they might not make it next year.

True, they don't have to move that much, and they have produced more house buys, but only that can get you so far. PPV buys is where the money is at. As of right now, people don't want to buy TNA PPVs because they aren't good.

Vince has taken risks, but it's more of pushing the envelope. It's not giving out big guaranteed contracts. It's giving out opportunities, and creating gimmicks that go over for the crowd. Things such as Pimps and Porn Stars. Giving big pushes to guys like Angle, and Lensar. Which yes, those two are different routes now, but they made the company money.

Little known fact about the first wrestlemania. They made a deal with TBS and WCW. WCW paid big dollars to WWF, which was able to help them pay for the first Wrestlemania. It worked out for them, and if it didn't Wrestling wouldn't of taken off like it did. That really wasn't a major risk, but a good move.

TNA, has so many names they don't need, and they could of got some ROH talent, and some other small time guys in there, and used them instead of Brian Knobs or Ric Flair. In fact TNA should of trimmed some fat. A lot of people won't like me saying this, but if AJ Styles still needs big names to get him over, maybe you got to let him go. Too much investment for a glorified crusierweight.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

This has been mentioned quite a bit already, but I want to sum this topic up the best I can.

Many companies make investments. They try to better their product by spending money they may or may not have. It's called investing. Right now, TNA is investing in people, products, and other amenities to try and have a product that turns a profit. Their goal isn't to put the WWE out of business. The goal is to be the best wrestling promotion in the world.

Now, I would venture to guess they're in the red right now. Probably by a good margin. But it's not enough to fold or even think about maybe changing directions again. The best thing to do is to watch the product if it entertains you and support it by purchasing PPV's on occasion, maybe some shirts or DVD's, and watching iMPACT to help their ratings, which help their overall revenue as far as advertising's concerned.

So are they having financial problems? No. Financial stress? Probably. But it's normal.

 

[Reddannihilation]

Finances are exactly why TNA stays in the Impact zone: free rent, gaurenteed full house and no expence of having to haul production trailers across the country.

There is no doubt TNA has taken on alot of salary with the additions of Hogan, Bischoff, Flair, Anderson, Hardy and RVD. Their main revenue stream is Spike TV. Merchandising and house shows appear to have gotten better, but their PPV buyrates are lousy.

Where exactly are you getting this info on buyrates? As was already stated TNA keep their finance records locked up, so where's this idea that they have low PPV buys coming from?

Anyway, it's already been stated that TNA pays a large number of it's roster per-appearance. Even Waltman and Hall are still on pay as you play agreements. So when it comes right down to it TNA probably are making enough money to stay afloat.

 

[WWE Manster03]

I would say normally they should be concerned, but this is very normal to take a loss when starting out something new. Hell, a new business very rarely breaks even in the first year of operation. I will say though, that they need to be careful what kind of show they put on the next 4-6 months, because if they can't gain more of a following in viewship, their PPV buys won't go up, their merch sales won't go up, and they won't have the extra add revenue coming in to help further promote their product. I watched Spike today for 5 hours(csi martahon) and I didn't see a single TNA commercial. I watched from 2-7pm. That is the time they should be trying to get new viewers. If I didn't know when they were on I wouldn't know that there was a wrestling show on Spike tv Monday nights at 9. That is what they need to fix to get their finances more secure. Until they do that, they couldn't afford to put a new show on the air if they tried.

 

[Tastycles]

There's almost no way to know the financial status of TNA and they don't reveal their PPV buyrates. What is certain is that you have to speculate to accumulate, and they have been doing that. The show will still cost the same to produce, and even if you assume that the new group of Flair, Hardy, Hogan, Bischoff, Hall, Waltman, RVD are each on a million dollars a year, then it only works out as 200,000 extra PPV buys over the whole year and that is probably a vastly inflated assessment. TNA haven't raised their production values nor gone on tour, so I don't think their financial situation will be wholly different from the pre-Hogan time, especially if they add 15,000 buys a month to their PPV tally.

 

[Depakote]

When it comes to business, you have to spend money to make money. You have to invest. I'm sure Panda Energy, the parent company of TNA, had the money to invest all along but were waiting for the company to show promise before they started getting guys like Hogan and Flair. Its a smart investment because you can assume that bringing in the bigger names will pay for themselves eventually through increased ratings, ppv buys, and merchandise. I dont think TNA is in the red. I think they had a budget for investment and theyre starting to spend it. Its too early to tell if it was a bad investment or not because these things take time.

We know that Hogan and Bischoff have their own team of investors that financially support them with their projects. We also know that Hogan and Dixie are now business partners. Perhaps Hogan is bringing more to the table than just star power. It would definitely give Dixie the confidence to work with Hogan, given his reputation in the past. Maybe Hogan and Bischoff have invested their money into TNA as well. It would certainly explain why Hogan is actually trying to turn the young guys on the roster into stars so he can keep his TNA cash cow afloat.