Update On TNA – SpikeTV
There still isn't a new contract agreement in place between TNA and Spike TV, according to The Wrestling Observer, although it's expected there will be one before the current deal expires in October. In fact, a source told me that generally, renewed TV contract negotiations begin taking place 2-3 months before the existing one is set to expire. Considering it's June now, I would suspect discussions will begin "officially" within the next couple months.
Impact Wrestling numbers have been less than stellar recently, but the show is still averaging over a million viewers each week, which is above the station average. Only a few shows on Spike draw more than Impact, in fact.
At this point, Spike still likes having one company for each of the three categories: MMA, wrestling and kickboxing. In the wrestling business, there's virtually no other company that could guarantee over a million viewers each week, aside from WWE who is clearly no longer an option.
Jeff Jarrett's exit agreement saw to it that he would not approach Spike with his new wrestling venture, so he is also not an option.
Spike's biggest concern when it comes to a new deal with TNA, according to Dave Meltzer's new report, would be the financial stability of the company. The Carter family is not investing much into the company any longer as they expect it to be self-sustaining by now, and the strongest stream of revenue TNA has is provided by Spike.
If Spike officials somehow felt TNA was at risk of going out of business anytime soon, they'd be less likely to sign a new multi-year agreement.
We'll keep you updated as more information becomes available. The next several months, in my opinion, are crucial times for TNA. From what I'm gathering, a TV deal of some kind is basically a requirement as it pertains to TNA continuing forward vs. folding the company.
