Looks Like We're Stuck With Russo

[kswolf]

TNA iMPACT! got a 1.12 cable rating for Thursday, February 8, 2007. This is the highest rating in the 145 weeks iMPACT! has been on the air, with the show getting its highest rating for males 18-34 (1.32) since the move to Thursdays. The episode also set a record for viewers with 1.6 million.

Credit: PWTorch.com

We're never going to get rid of Russo are we?

[Brother Ike: Thread Killer]

I don't get the big deal about ratings sometimes. There not that important if nobody is ordering your PPV's.

[Hulk With A Mustache]

albundy said:

I don't get the big deal about ratings sometimes. There not that important if nobody is ordering your PPV's.

Yeah, ratings don't mean a goddamn thing if no one is willing to put money down to buy PPVs, DVDs, and other merchandise.

[EvilMasterBetty, Esq.]

CONGRATULATIONS!

Let me know when they beat ECW.

[HMARK Center]

But we have no idea what the buyrate numbers are.

I heard Genesis did about 70,000 but that Turning Point did significantly worse, due to being the fifth Sunday PPV in a row during that five-week period in November/December (Genesis -> Survivor Series -> December 2 Dismember -> Other WWE PPV -> Turning Point).

I have no clue how Final Resolutions did, though.

[REDUNBECK~!]

To quote AJ Styles: Whoopdy Doo!

[leemir]

How do they know which age group is watching the show???

[Michael Coello]

csm126 said:

To quote AJ Styles: Whoopdy Doo!

That's Whoop Dee Doo!

[Michael Coello]

leemir said:

How do they know which age group is watching the show???

Some overcomplicated method that involves the sacrfice of kittens.

[REDUNBECK~!]

hitmanmark said:

But we have no idea what the buyrate numbers are.

I heard Genesis did about 70,000 but that Turning Point did significantly worse, due to being the fifth Sunday PPV in a row during that five-week period in November/December (Genesis -> Survivor Series -> December 2 Dismember -> Other WWE PPV -> Turning Point).

I have no clue how Final Resolutions did, though.

If I'm not mistaken, the average buyrate for TNA PPVs is 25000-35000. Genesis had the huge spike because of Joe/Angle.

[Jason Todd Grisham]

Russo=Ratings
Russo=Exposure

Now if TNA was a publicly traded company we could figure out if Russo=Money.

[REDUNBECK~!]

a2j88 said:

Russo=Ratings
Russo=Exposure

Now if TNA was a publicly traded company we could figure out if Russo=Money.

Considering that the average buyrate numbers hasn't jumped up, I think we can already say Russo doesn't equal money.

And...Exposure? What exposure is TNA getting outside of mentions on ESPN because of the baseball tie-in (which TNA has done in the past, before Russo)?

And lest we forget that the reason for the higher number might be that Nielsen ratings have recently begun including the college kids. For all we know, the viewership has always been this high, and we just didn't know it because the ratings were counting fewer demographics. So we can't even be sure that Russo has anything to do with the ratings...

I'm not saying he absolutely doesn't, I'm just saying we shouldn't make assumptions.

[Deleted]

So, Russo is bad because his booking has made the ratings rise?

[REDUNBECK~!]

am90 said:

So, Russo is bad because his booking has made the ratings rise?

Again, the Nielsen ratings have added the college demographic, which is most likely why TNA's ratings suddenly are bigger. It ain't necessarily Russo's doing.

And even IF Russo could claim that the ratings increase was his doing, that doesn't mean he's any good. Ed Wood was the worst film maker who ever disgraced the silver screen, and he has a massive fan base because he SUCKED, which no one would dispute. It could easily be the same way with Vinny Ru (not that I'm claiming I could prove it is or isn't).

[Lenny: Smooth like Keith Stone]

albundy said:

I don't get the big deal about ratings sometimes. There not that important if nobody is ordering your PPV's.

I agree. High TV Ratings is great news for the network, but it's just the beginning for TNA itself. Often times lots of TV viewers will open the door to lots of PPV buys and merchandise sales. Those are the figures that will truly determine if TNA is succeeding or not.

[Jason Todd Grisham]

csm126 said:

a2j88 said:

Russo=Ratings
Russo=Exposure

Now if TNA was a publicly traded company we could figure out if Russo=Money.

Considering that the average buyrate numbers hasn't jumped up, I think we can already say Russo doesn't equal money.

And...Exposure? What exposure is TNA getting outside of mentions on ESPN because of the baseball tie-in (which TNA has done in the past, before Russo)?

And lest we forget that the reason for the higher number might be that Nielsen ratings have recently begun including the college kids. For all we know, the viewership has always been this high, and we just didn't know it because the ratings were counting fewer demographics. So we can't even be sure that Russo has anything to do with the ratings...

I'm not saying he absolutely doesn't, I'm just saying we shouldn't make assumptions.

I guess success cannot be measured the same way if it's because of Russo. We have to mess up the facts to fit our preconcieved notions that people want to see a sporting event. When did Neilson start adding College kids? This week? TNA's ratings have been high before this point anyway. January has been consistant around the 1.0-1.1 area, the last time TNA has been doing this was in May. As far as ratings go TNA is doing good.

More people watching=more exposure of the product. That's what I was getting at.

And the last time I heard TNA's buyrates was last year. Do they let that slip anymore?

[I Got Heat]

Hey Russo haters, where's your chart showing the buyrates are down from pre-Russo times? Good luck finding one that supports your argument/daydream. They lost a little steam from Genesis (marks bought this to see Angle's first PPV match in TNA) but it's still up in comparison to the days of Team Canada and Jeff Jarrett blah blah blah.

P.S. I had to laugh at people saying the Nielsen changed and that's why the ratings are up. Poor net fans will pull any excuse in the book to try to bury Russo.

[REDUNBECK~!]

I'm not changing the measure of success because it's Russo. For a company like TNA, the measure of success is how much money they can make. TNA can only make money by selling PPVs, and Russo ain't doing much to spike PPV buys (if he was, don't you think TNA would be putting out big stories about 'monumental success' by now?). iMPACT could draw a 100.9 rating and it wouldn't mean crap if they were still only selling 25000-35000 buys each PPV.

If Russo can convince more people to buy PPVs on a regular basis, he'll be a success. Until then he's just the guy putting Chris Sabin in adult diapers in front of 1.6 million people. And TNA is still in the hole financially.

[REDUNBECK~!]

lolatwwe said:

Hey Russo haters, where's your chart showing the buyrates are down from pre-Russo times? Good luck finding one that supports your argument/daydream. They lost a little steam from Genesis (marks bought this to see Angle's first PPV match in TNA) but it's still up in comparison to the days of Team Canada and Jeff Jarrett blah blah blah.

My argument isn't that buys are down, it's that they aren't going up. Holding steady at 25000-35000 isn't doing TNA any favors and it shows how stagnant they are. They need to get more people to buy the shows if they want to get out of the hole.

[Lenny: Smooth like Keith Stone]

Well I can't vouch for the ratings one way or another. I can't speak for all the households across the world. All that I know is that I was a huge TNA fan and supporter back in 2005, and nowadays I can't make it through a single episode of Impact. The "Team Canada and Jeff Jarrett" days may not have been a huge success ratings wise (hell, they didnt even have a TV show for a few months), but I liked it a lot better. I do realize that I'm just one guy though, and I am not going to make or break a company. And with the fact that more people are watching the TV show nowadays, apparently a lot of people don't agree with me.