TNA Goes 2 Hours

[The Captain]

The expansion to 2 hours is what the doctor ordered, IMO. In theory, this could be just the shot in the arm for talent morale TNA so desperately needs.

[Reverend BTY]

comahan said:

People are spoiled by WWE Ratings. A 1.0+ on primetime TV, on a cable network, for 2 hours(now) of original programming every week isnt bad whatsoever.

This was what I was gonna say. When it comes to ratings, WWE is more of an annomoly than most other shows on cable.

Anyway, I hope they do well there. I'll at least give them a shot.

[DASH 243✅]

I'll tivo it

[Da (No Sold) 7-1-3 Itch]

I'm all for the new added hour

[Black Hammer Rocks the AssWhip]

Still won't tune in to the 2 hr. premiere. But if I hear it's good and better that they did the 2 hr. thing, then maybe i'll tune back in. Who the hell knows, really.

[Agent P]

A.) What are the odds laz78 isn't a member within 48 hours

and

B.) I think it will be incredibly interesting to see how TNA handles this. On a positive note, a lot more guys are gonna get paid. Angles are going to progressed every week, as opposed to some angles "taking a week off". And this should lead to a better overall product.

["Nature Boy" Ric Moranis]

A two-year extension with SpikeTV also means that TNA won't die through at least September 30, 2009 (when their TV extension would end, if not renewed by SpikeTV...or picked up by another network).

As majority owners of TNA, Panda Energy can't pull the plug on TNA's funding while they're on the new two-year SpikeTV deal. If they fold TNA, Panda leaves itself open to a pricey breach-of-contract lawsuit from Spike and their parent company, MTV Networks. Panda's such a cash cow that they can sustain whatever reasonable losses TNA has for a good long while, plus TNA being in the red eases Panda's bottom line to a certain extent due to the corporate tax breaks (which is why HealthSouth tried to "back" TNA as a write-off when they were going broke themselves). This extension gives Panda all the more reason to stay behind TNA, because they can get themselves in a mess with Spike if they cancel it.

That said, SpikeTV can cancel Impact at any time if they start drawing 0.6s or something, but if TNA was smart, they would've worked a non-cancellation clause into their deal, since they had negotiating leverage and interest from other networks. Which is why SpikeTV cut them such a sweet break to stay.

The two-year deal with SpikeTV is great news for TNA, as good or better than the two hour slot. So, I'm going to stop saying TNA's going out of business, since it pretty much can't happen until Fall 2009.

[Agent P]

I also hope they are getting paid for this. I know that at least when they were on Saturday's at 11, Spike wasn't paying TNA or vise versa.

[Timmy8271]

I wish them luck and hope they don't F it up. Now the writers can slow things down a little.

["Nature Boy" Ric Moranis]

krazyeman said:

I also hope they are getting paid for this. I know that at least when they were on Saturday's at 11, Spike wasn't paying TNA or vise versa.

TNA's getting paid in the deal that's about to expire, and Spike's chipping in for large parts of Kurt Angle and Sting's contracts, because they want known "stars" on their network. And I assume Spike will be paying a considerable chunk of the contract for whomever the "former world champion" is that just signed, too, which would allow TNA to go out of their price range to sign somebody big.

Also, I'd bet that the "former world champion" signing (with Spike's assistance) was one of the last details worked out before the announcement. Looking at TNA's history, I figure it's somebody with some name value. Every single time they've upgraded their TV, they scored big names to join on.

Move to FSN = Jeff Hardy (just before the move), Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Randy Savage, DDP
Move to SpikeTV on Saturdays at 11 = The Dudleys (and came VERY close to landing Mick Foley and Matt Hardy)
Move to SpikeTV on Thursdays at 11 = Christian, Sting
Move to SpikeTV on Thursdays at 9 = Kurt Angle
Move to two hour slot= (__?__)

I wouldn't be surprised if SpikeTV fronted money to help TNA steal a familiar, big ex-WWE name from the SpikeTV/RAW days for the big launch on October 4. And that wouldn't be a Sid or Sabu.

To me, this narrows it down to Lesnar, Jericho, RVD, or Big Show. Knowing how well TNA kept the Angle signing under wraps, to the point that Angle was openly saying he wasn't even considering TNA...I'd bet it's one of those four names that seem the least likely or obvious to come in.

So I'm thinking it's either Lesnar or Jericho, and Jericho wasn't seen on UFC last night, and isn't looking to concentrate on MMA. So, I'd think it's Jericho, and it seems like a pretty big coincidence that newz leaked recently of him leaning towards returning to WWE, esp. considering this is a guy who has fun working the 'net and newz reporters, then factor in the timing that the Jericho/WWE newz came the week of the SpikeTV announcement coupled with a major TNA talent acquisition. It makes far more sense for Jericho to return to WWE, but we don't know what kind of deal TNA/SpikeTV could put on the table for him, and with Spike's backing, it's probably more lucrative than we'd assume.

I'm skeptical of TNA being able to pull in Lesnar or Jericho, but I didn't think I'd see Angle in TNA last fall either. And Kurt Angle's crazier than roughly 627 Chris Jerichos, so I'm not sure how much my bullshit theory/comparison to last year's Angle/TNA signing can stand-up in this situation.

Oh well. We probably won't even know who it is until Oct. 4th, possibly the week before. Just wanted to offer up some stuff to consider for when TNA goes two hours.

[dpg]

2 hours, yay! Most people outside of the internet won't have known of the backstage horse trading going on since they joined spike about getting 2 hours, so it will be a good surprise. And since the rating actually went up this past week even though it had strong competition, I think it'll be fine. That plus raw has been around for a long time now, and WWE has been on tv for decades. Their rating is an anomoly.

[The Blue Blazer]

Does that mean the end of 6-man tag squash matches?

And what's the over/under on segments involving Angle on the first show?

[Agent P]

blueblazer said:

Does that mean the end of 6-man tag squash matches?

And what's the over/under on segments involving Angle on the first show?

No, it means there will be 2 6-man tag squashes per show! And if you think I am joking, watch the other two 2-hour shows.

I will guess 40% of the segments will feature Kurt, since he is, you know, the World Champion

[The Blue Blazer]

krazyeman said:

blueblazer said:

Does that mean the end of 6-man tag squash matches?

And what's the over/under on segments involving Angle on the first show?

No, it means there will be 2 6-man tag squashes per show! And if you think I am joking, watch the other two 2-hour shows.

I will guess 40% of the segments will feature Kurt, since he is, you know, the World Champion

I dunno...Cena and Khali are World Champions and they usually only get two or three segments apiece.

[Dynamic Dude Johnny]

How will this affect the Saturday night rerun. As much as i like TNA i have something else I tape on Thursday night so if there is no rerun I will miss TNA about 22 weeks a year. I hope they still have the rerun from either 11:00 to 1:00am or either 10:00pm to 12:00am.

[dpg]

They'll probably show the entire replay, it'll fill up another hour for spike on the cheap.

[tommyvercetti]

I haven't watched TNA in about 8 months, I don't really find enjoyment in the product..but having said that I DO want them to succeed.

Hopefully this will help them get a bigger audience..even if I'm not one of them.