The most important NWA TNA question...

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

What does everyone think about the way NWA TNA presents itself?

 

I'm talking about the weekly ppv idea.

 

I think there are several pros and cons attached to it...and I'd be curious to get everyone elses thoughts on it.

 

PROS

 

1. Makes them readily available to a larger market.

2. Gets them on tv EVERY WEEK, instead of selling videos like RoH or a ppv every so often like WWA

3. The price. Yes you have to pay 10 bucks for it...but it adds up to 40 bucks for 8 hours of wrestling that has been up to the quality of the WWE ppvs (which doesn't say much...) and the WWE is 35 bucks a month...for 5 less hours.

 

 

CONS

 

1. Paying? for a wrestling tv show?

2. One 2 hour show that people are paying for makes it harder to showcase all of their talent so that they can get everyone over.

3. The lack of a "Big Show" or a TV slot. They are right in between on this one. They don't have a show on free tv...and they don't have an "EVENT" every month like the WWE.

 

 

It certainly is a different approach...and since no one else has succeded (at least not for long) at anything else...it's interesting to see how it unfolds.

 

Do you think it will work?

 

If it is somewhat successful...do you think a TV deal would become inevitable?

 

And if so...when would it come?

 

Despite the fact that the WWE ratings are down...I doubt a network would look at that and say "If I sign these guys...maybe we can pick up all those disenfranchised wrestling fans".

 

I think if TNA got a TV deal...it wouldn't come until the next wrestling Boom...when stupid tv execs will think immediate payoff.

 

Can they hold out that long?

 

What are your thoughts on the future of the company?

[Guest treble charged]

I think that they should try and go the opposite route of the WWE for now. That is, try and get a monthly TV slot, and make that their 'PPV'. This way, they can showcase their talent on a bigger scale, and try to get more people to order the weekly PPVs. This might not be able to go on for a long time, but for a few months, it might be worth it.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

That is one of the most interesting and original ideas I have ever heard.

[Guest treble charged]

A network is probably more likely to give them a monthly timeslot over a weekly one, too. Less of a risk.

[Guest Dangerous A]

At least there is a net buzz about the product, sort of like ECW. I don't think they can go on much longer on a ppv weekly basis. They really need a tv deal. They need money to be pumped in, or else whoever is bankrolling them right now is going to leave them.

 

 

Bottom line: I think they can hold their heads above water with the weekly ppv thing for only a few more months, if that. Ultimately what will get them into the hunt will be good word of mouth and availability i.e. tv show. They can't afford a bad string of shows or else they run the risk of turning off an already fragile fan base.

 

 

But dammit, I want them to succeed. Competition is good. It Gets Vince and creative off of their collective asses and gets them motivated to give me a better show.

[Guest 4Life]

They need a tv deal. I like NWA and I also choose to buy their PPVs over WWE crap. Having a TV slot will bring them more credibility and buyrates for ppvs.

[Guest Tony149]

I think Jerry is using his own money from his construction business he owns. The one J.J. Dillon works for.

 

TC has a good idea. I think some network would give them a shot at a monthly show. USA, Fox (FX), TBS, TNT come to mind.

 

I always hoped for any promotion to get a deal with USA because of their history backing a product. The Turner networks could and probably would fuck any promotion over like they did WCW.

[Guest treble charged]

USA would probably be the most likely place, as they stuck with the WWF through it's lowest points, but they didn't take ECW when they had the chance, so they might be hesitant on NWA TNA.

[Guest TheDames7]

TC's idea reminds me a lot of the old Saturday Night Main Event. I think it's awesome.

 

Dames

[Guest MrRant]

USA would be great... Mondays would be a bad idea, but they could stand to liven up say a Wednesday or Tuesday night. They have hit with Dead Zone so if they positioned wrestling to either follow or lead into that, then the NWA may get a bit of a bump.

[Guest Vyce]

What I hope is that, should the weekly PPV idea fall through eventually, they will have built up a large enough following and proven that they COULD be successful (at least for a prolonged length of time) that some network will bite the bullet and give them a TV slot. That's just my pipe dream.

[Guest Edwin MacPhisto]

I don't watch TNA now because I just don't order PPV things, plain and simple.

 

If they got a TV deal, I'd be there every show, no questions asked. If NWA gets a TV deal of ANY sort, I think they'll be safe for a long while.

[Guest the 1inch punch]

They have a TV Deal in Nashville dont they

[Guest WWF4Life]

Yeah, they've got a local TV deal...I just don't see any longevity in a weekly PPV series. Didn't the buy rate for their first show come in at under 30k when they needed at least 50k? That's not a good start.

 

They need to stop booking so much for the internet too. Any business that focuses on a niche market fails, especially in wrestling. I can't see them being around in six months time. If they are, I'd give kudos to them.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

I think you have something backwards...as the buyrates for the first one were far more than they the 50k they said they needed.

 

Meltzer and Jerry Jarrett himself commented on how surprised they were with how well it did.

[Guest WWF4Life]

If you say so...I just haven't seen any confirmation anywhere on the numbers. If they did get more than 50k, that's cool, I want them to do well.

[Guest Hogan Made Wrestling]

The estimated buyrate was 80k, but the actual buyrate is looking to come in under 30k. InDemand always overbloats their early estimates by a lot. DirecTV does this as well only not as severely. For instance NWO2002 was estimated at about 800-900k buys and did 500-600k.