Another Torch Column on TNA

[TNABaddboi 0]

There's an old saying that no one will by the cow if you're giving away milk for free. In other words, no one wants to buy what you have if you've given it up without charge. While this saying might hold true in some instances, it doesn't in wrestling. In the world of sports entertainment, you give away that milk in order to sell someone on the idea of drinking really good milk from the cow you have for sale… at the end of the month… on pay-per-view.

 

WWE has been using this idea for years now. Offer four hours of original programming per week, give the fans 16 hours of new wrestling each month and then ask for $35 on some wayward Sunday in order for them to view the really good matches. You could say that it's overpriced and it is. You can say that World Wrestling Entertainment is pushing it's luck by asking fans to purchase two pay shows a month now. You can say all that, but one thing remains true. You get 16 hours of free programming a month.

 

NWA-TNA didn't give me anything free until about a month ago. If anything, they survived on a little help from the Lord above and Dixie Carter, persevering for seven days at a time over the course of two years without any free TV to sell their shows. Instead, fans were asked to finance TNA's struggle to stay alive each Wednesday on pay-per-view. The company said that the cost per week was only $9.95. How could you go wrong? In one month, you pay $40, but you get eight hours of wrestling! WWE only gives you two and a half. TNA played that point up to death.

 

The only difference is, as we pointed out earlier, while WWE gave you a pay event that ran two hours and change, but gave you 16 hours of free buildup leading in. The shows were hyped over and over. When World Wrestling Entertainment's pay-per-views were coming on, I was reminded of the card each Monday and Thursday for a month. When TNA's pay-per-views were coming on, I had to go to their website and find out the card, then hope that everyone showed up. There's a big difference between paying a company to see the blow off to a rivalry you've been following and paying a company to…uh, pay them.

 

Things have changed lately though. With a shout out from big money mistake Johnny Fairplay on Survivor's finale and a free TV show at a weird time, NWA-TNA has a chance to crawl out of their hole. They finally have the opportunity to build up their Wednesday pay-per-views, giving me a reason to want to order. Rather than throw names together at the last minute, offer screw job finishes, and ramble in numerous directions, TNA's pay shows could be something new. Impact on Fox Sports Net will be the build up, Wednesday would be the good show.

 

Not so fast. Anyone who saw TNA's recent Two Year Anniversary Show knows what I mean. Closing out the pay broadcast with a non-finish to a main event is a crime that fans would string WWE up by its knuckles for. Why should TNA be any different? The good news for Total Nonstop Action is that they have a new Television show. The bad news is that with the addition of this free show to the mix, they no longer have the luxury of cruising through pay-per-views. When it was the only show they had, I could see it. Now the rules are different. If you want to get ten bucks a week from me, you have to outdo your free show that runs opposite Judge Judy.

 

The most important thing for NWA-TNA to realize is that while their programs might equal less than WWE's pay-per-bill each month, they don't have the same things to offer. World Wrestling Entertainment has bigger mainstream names, better production value, better advertising, and tons more money. If you really expect fans to pay you something comparable to what they'd pay them, you need to offer something they can't get elsewhere - value.

 

Fans of NWA-TNA used to give up the ten spot every week because they had no choice. It was either that or not see the promotion at all. Now they don't have to. If NWA-TNA truly is the "alternative" that they claim to be, they'll be that. They'll offer a product you can't get anywhere else. Until they do that, they won't be an alternative. They'll just be another fleeting wrestling company that exists to suck our money.