TNA released the following press release moments ago confirming their new two-hour timeslot:
TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION (TNA) WRESTLING AND SPIKE TV ANNOUNCE NEW MULTI-YEAR DEAL
Highly Rated Series “TNA iMPACT!” To Expand To Two Hours in October
New York, NY, September 9, 2007 â<80>” TNA Entertainment, LLC and Spike TV have announced a two-year extension of their partnership which maintains Spike TV as the exclusive cable television home of TNA (Total Nonstop Action) Wrestling’s weekly action athletic entertainment series “iMPACT!” The announcement was jointly made today by Kevin Kay, Spike TV General Manager and Dixie Carter, TNA Entertainment, LLC President. The successful Thursday night series will expand from one to two hours on Thursday, October 4 (9:00-11:00pm ET/PT).
“We are excited to continue and expand our relationship with the world’s fastest growing wrestling organization, ” said Kevin Kay, General Manager, Spike TV. “Increasing to two hours will help develop the popular stars on the series and increase the visibility of new characters.”
“The growth of “iMPACT!” to two hours is certainly a benchmark that we wanted to achieve and is an indicator of our success as we continue our relationship with Spike TV,” said Dixie Carter, TNA President. “Throughout TNA’s short history, its accomplishments have been a testament to all of its talent and staff, as well as the best fans in professional wrestling.”
“TNA iMPACT!” launched on Spike TV on October 1, 2005 to an audience of 850,000 viewers. In the last few weeks, TNA has consistently drawn 1.5 million viewers, nearly doubling its initial audience in only two years. “TNA iMPACT!” is the only weekly wrestling show on cable television that has seen ratings growth in 2007 “TNA iMPACT!” is averaging a 1.1 HH rating and an average audience of 1.3 million viewers up +15% and +18% respectively. (WWE’s “Monday Night Raw” on USA Network is down -7% in HH rating while ECW on Sci-Fi Channel is down 20% from last year).
TNA Wrestling delivers a distinct brand of high-risk, athletic entertainment. TNA’s roster features the biggest names in wrestling, including Kurt Angle, Sting, Scott Steiner, Christian Cage, Jeff Jarrett, Rhino and Team 3D, as well as the hottest new talent in the business, such as Samoa Joe, A.J. Styles, “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal, Triple X and The Latin American Exchange (LAX). TNA features the innovative six-sided ring and the high-flying “X Division,” as well as concept matches such as “Ultimate X,” “King of the Mountain,” and “Six Sides of Steel.”
Brian J. Diamond is Senior Vice President, Sports & Specials, Spike TV and Scott Fishman is Executive in Charge of Production for Spike TV.
Spike TV is available in 91.6 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.
