Details On TNA’s New Deal With SpikeTV, Expectations & More

– As noted last week, TNA Impact Wrestling will air on Spike TV through October 2014 after TNA and Spike signed a new deal. The current deal was set to expire this October. A lot of people in TNA are relieved right now because the deal was signed and signed as early as it was.

One of the topics discussed in negotiations was UFC’s Ultimate Fighter, which left Spike for FX as a part of UFC’s big deal with FOX. Ultimate Fighter is only doing around 1.2 million viewers while TNA brings in around 1.7 million for Spike weekly, most of that being the coveted Males 18-34 demographic. The goal for TNA and Spike with the new deal is to bring the viewership up to 2 million per week.

The new contract is only for Impact Wrestling but if other TNA TV projects come up, Spike is interested in discussions. Another possibility is live Impact specials but there was no talk of those happening during negotiations.

The new contract also does not cover episodes of Impact being taped on the road but TNA and Spike are planning to hold more tapings outside of Orlando this year.