Partial Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter
UPDATE x 2: Over the last few days, several people within
TNA were told to expect a major announcement on Wednesday of this week. That is
the same day that iMPACT! will end its run on SpikeTV. Of course, these
deadlines have been coming and going since October so take this for what it’s
worth. Many are under the impression that an announcement will be made on
Wednesday …….. for real this time. We shall see.
UPDATE: We have confirmed with a few sources inside TNA
that the company will in fact move away from Spike and will air on a new
programming partner as of January. The new TV deal is said to be “extremly
close” to done if it isn’t signed already. The word is that it will be a
multi-year deal and not a short-term contract.
The new TV partner is said to be, as previously reported, a lesser-known
network and may (though this is not confirmed) be the recently-rumored
Destination America which is part of Discovery Communications. It is available
in slightly more than half the country. The deal is expected to bring in less
money at first, but will allow them to have more opportunities. They will be
able to have more than just iMPACT! on the network and in fact will be that new
partner’s biggest brand. This will allow them to help possibly grow a new
network or at least allows them to “start again,” which the site reports is
their plan once new shows begin in January.
A source notes that the break with Spike TV is amicable and the December
episodes are, as of this point, still scheduled to air.
ORIGINAL: TNA appears to be officially done with Spike TV.
MMA reporter Jeremy Botter spoke with Spike officials at last night’s Bellator
131 and posted the following:
I’ve gotten this
question, so I’ll answer it: No, Spike will not be in the TNA Wrestling business
any longer.
— Jeremy Botter (@jeremybotter) November
15, 2014
TNA sources have indicated that their new TV deal will be announced this week
and that this Wednesday’s episode of iMPACT! will be the final one on Spike.
This means that the “Best Of” episodes that were planned to run through the end
of the year would not actually air on Spike. It is possible that TNA was waiting
for their Spike episodes to finish up before announcing their next TV home.
The company still has dates held at the Manhattan Center in New York City for
January 6th through the 8th.
