Who is Anthem Sports? (TNA's New Owners)

[johnbragg]

“TNA is a strong property for Fight Network and as a licensee and global distribution partner we have a keen interest in seeing the company not only survive but continue to grow and thrive, alongside our own growth,” said Leonard Asper, CEO of Anthem. “We are hopeful that the company can soon get back to doing what it does best, which is to produce great wrestling content.”

That's the guy who's ready to pay Billy Corgan his money, who funded the BFG and October Impact tapings.

Since google lets me become a 24-hour expert, he's part of a big Canadian media mogul family. The Aspers ran CanWest Media, which owned a string of newspapers, cable channels, TV, radio, etc etc until 2008. They borrowed a lot of money in the 1990s and 2000s to buy properties, and in 2008 revenues dropped and the funders called in the loans and they couldn't pay the loans and lost the companies.

But families like that tend to have a lot of money socked away--they lost their ability to run newspapers and TV stations and websites with Other People's Money. I can't find anything on whether Fight Network is making any money, but this guy can probably afford to fund Fight Networks' losses--and TNA's losses--indefinitely.

Asper has also run a non-pro-wrestling company, so I expect things like payroll and merchandising and tours to run on a professional basis. TNA is a lot closer to Fight Network's core business than it was to Panda Energy's. (I suspect that Panda *could* have done a better job running TNA than they did, but either it was JArrett's operation and they were just funding it, or later it was Dixie's operation and nobody at PAnda's offices reported to Dixie, so TNA was a money-losing stepchild.)

EDIT: I suspect Panda funded TNA the way my parents funded me in college. They would sending me money after I got myself into a financial jam. The family would have saved money by just figuring out how much money I actually needed per month and sending that much in the first place. Dad kept asking me to set up a budget, but I had no clue how and felt bad asking them for money in the first place, so I never did, until I was out of college and had a job and could say "I'm making $300 a week, rent is this much, this is what I have left" and that was what I had to spend.

 

[New Hot Fed]

That College comparison is so apt. Although Dixie has never grew a maturity so instead of her saying "that's what I need", they realised them sending her money did not solve anything so they cut her off completely. And from then on she borrowed money from everybody, owe money to everybody. She's the worst screw up kid on drug.

About Anthem, them losing many companies does not bode well but The Fight Network is profitable. The biggest fear is that The Fight Network just give Dixie and her cronies carte blanche without interference, that they just help her out a jam but let TNA do their thing without a Corgan giving it a vision. Gaburick running TNA would be horrible. TNA needs a big change and I'm sure The Fight Network would do that.

 

[dsotm5150]

TNA doesn't need another bailout, there's so many fingers in that pie right now Dixie probably doesn't even remember half the people she owes money to right now. Another entity giving them enough cash to get out of debt or to be able to operate for another few months isn't going to do them any good if the management stays the same. I dont know anything about this Fight Network or the company that runs it but with the amount of debt that's coming to light I can't imagine anyone being interested in purchasing TNA at this point. I would think there's probably a way to purchase TNA without taking on the debt or the lawsuits, but I'm not sure.

 

[Navi]

The main page is reporting that a deal has been reached for Anthem Sports Entertainment to fund TNA. Billy Corgan is no longer with the company, and Dixie Carter while chairing the company, doesn't appear to have any power.

The article doesn't state what the future holds for TNA and what will happen to the talent and their contracts, but the deal is done apparently. No word either on if Corgan got his money back and if WWE managed to purchase the tape library.

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/770889-billy-corgan-no-longer-with-tna

Never end with TNA does it.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Corgan announced via Twitter that he still hasn't been paid:

"FACT: TNA was supposed to pay me to 2 days ago, which they swore to in front of a judge. Yesterday they asked for a day to 'get $ together'

Upon which, (yesterday or today) they'd 'reach out directly' to settle ALL claims. So they lied again and have used the time as a weapon

FACT: I have still not been paid, and I'm exploring all remedies including new filings with court and converting to 36 pct. equity."

Can't help but feel kinda bad for Corgan because he genuinely loved being part of TNA and he sunk a lot of time and money into trying to save it.

As far as WWE purchasing the tape library, I doubt that anything will come of this. As far as rebranding TNA goes, who the hell knows at this point.

 

[Starkist]

It really sucks for Corgan as I think his creativity would have been well for TNA. Now that Dixie is out of power, maybe a better product will come out. Only worry I have is if Fight Network is going to try to make TNA more fighting thend wrestling. It was tried before and failed and if they do it again you guess is it will fail again.

 

[johnbragg]

Actually, it looks like Anthem and Dixie Carter structured this deal to *avoid* having Anthem take ownership of TNA, at least yet. Anthem is providing TNA with credit, and taking control of some operations.

Possibilities:
--they did it this way to avoid paying Billy Corgan the extra 50% he's supposed to get on the loan if Dixie sells TNA to someone else by November 1.
--Anthem is structuring it this way, loaning TNA more and more money with the intention of forcing TNA into Chapter 11, which means everyone TNA owes money to takes a haircut on the debt. (Instead of handing Dixie Carter $5M in exchange for TNA ownership, with Carter paying off TNA's creditors and being left with enough for a cup of coffee, Anthem is loaning TNA $5M, expecting that they'll write off half of that when TNA goes Chapter 11.)

 

[Bischoff's Knob Slobberer]

I don't care who owns TNA as long as it remains out of that diseased cockroach Vince McMahon's hands. Vince = the antichrist and death of professional wrestling as we know it.

 

[JoeFromTomsRiver]

Fuck TNA. Corgan running the show was the last hope in my eyes. I'm officially done. Won't watch another second of this nonsense.

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

Only worry I have is if Fight Network is going to try to make TNA more fighting thend wrestling. It was tried before and failed and if they do it again you guess is it will fail again.

Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe in an MMA style cage match was the headliner for the most purchased TNA PPV in its entire history. That's actually the opposite of failure.

Maybe they should try that again.

 

[WWEIsLife2]

I don't care who owns TNA as long as it remains out of that diseased cockroach Vince McMahon's hands. Vince = the antichrist and death of professional wrestling as we know it.

Really? Last I checked Vince actually pays his people unlike Delusional Dixie. So who's the real cockroach here?

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

TNA is the equivalent of a mid carder who keeps kicking out of a pin attempt at the last second after a famous move. They don't mount a comeback, but they keep kicking out at the last second.

 

[HORRORHOLIC]

I think it's more like they're the jobber who the star keeps picking up at the count of two before deciding to finally put him out of his misery. I think it's time for the jobber to be repackaged!!

 

[johnbragg]

Just using this thread as a notebook for information links.

Just how big a business is Fight Network (Anthem's core holding)?

Anthem’s growing audience is largely digital. Fight Network’s digital reach, including subscribers and app downloads is now 70 million, but 10 million of that is via cable or satellite.

http://business.financialpost.com/news/on-my-terms-leonard-asper-doubling-down-on-niche-sports-to-build-media-empire

Source: Financial Post (division of Canada's NAtional Post newspaper), March 1 2017.