Thursday debut rating

[Dangerous A 0]

Replay on Saturday did a 0.6 according to Mike Johnson, FYI

 

 

That's actually not bad. I wonder what percentage of the Thurs. ratings were holdovers of TUF and also if the .6 Saturday viewership were all first time viewers of the show who were creatures of habit and watched saturday instead of the first run thursday?

[TNABaddboi 0]

Analysis from Keller, picked from the official TNA boards:

 

Here's a little premium rub by Keller,

 

TNA draws its biggest cable audience yet

Debut on Thursday night benefits from Ultimate Fighter lead-in

By Wade Keller, editor

 

TNA drew a 1.1 rating for its Thursday night debut on April 13. The show drew an average of 1.3 million viewers over the one-hour broadcast, making it the most watched TNA telecast to date. The show retained or matched 85 percent of the UFC lead-in audience in the 10-11 p.m. timeslot for The Ultimate Fighter 3 episode, which drew a 1.3 overall rating.

 

In the old timeslot, the Saturday night replay of Impact two nights later drew a 0.6 overall rating, creating a combined ratings of 1.7 for both telecasts, just short of its all-time high combined rating. (It drew a combined 1.8 rating on the Jan. 28/30 weekend, a 1.7 rating for its Saturday/Monday broadcasts on the Jan. 14/16 weekend, and several combined ratings of 1.5.)

 

The Apr. 14 Thursday debut of Impact opened with a 1.2 quarter hour rating for Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels (the most watched non-WWE match on cable TV in five years), then lost just over 10 percent of its viewers for the next 30 minutes with two 1.0 quarters, before rebounding to a 1.1 rating for the fourth quarter hour which featured Sting's first national basic cable match in five years.

 

While one TNA executive called the rating a very good start to build on, but not something to be ecstatic about, Spike TV officials were pleased since it was the first night in a new timeslot, and many regular viewers may not have known or remembered it moved.

 

The good news for TNA is that it drew so well in Spike's key target demographic - men 18-49. In fact, the 1.4 rating in that demographic made it the top rated program from 11-12 p.m. that night in that demo among all basic cable programs, beating the runner-up programming on FX by 30 percent. It also drew a strong 1.7 rating among men 25-34 and 1.5 among men 18-34. That's a big reason Spike TV touted the entire night "a solid hit!"

 

The Ultimate Fighter also did very well in Spike's primary target demographic, drawing a 1.7 rating among men 18-49 and a stellar 2.3 among men 18-34, making it the no. 1 telecast of the entire day on all of cable in all key male demographics. When counting broadcast channels, also, it was behind only CBS in total male viewers 18-34 or 25-34. Ironically, the show that WWE helped build - The Ultimate Fighter - is now being utilized in much the same way to build WWE's upstart competitor.

 

The bad news is that The Ultimate Fighter drew a 1.3, down from the 2.0 the week before. Could the same be in store for TNA Impact on week two, without the lure of Sting's first basic cable TV match in five years and without the compelling opening scene of Samoa Joe kicking Christopher Daniels in the head?

 

Actually, TNA shouldn't expect a large ratings drop because the circumstances for its second week are more favorable than TUF's second week. TUF's first week rating was inflated because it had a live UFC Fight Night special preceding it. It was likely that a "Best of UFC" type show this week would lead to a drop in the rating. Comparatively, TNA Impact faces the same circumstances in week two as in week one; it follows a fresh episode of The Ultimate Fighter which should draw a similar rating, or a better rating, based on debuting with two compelling episodes to start the season. Therefore, any drop in TNA's rating should be taken as a sign that viewers who watched last week didn't like what they saw enough to watch this week, or that this week's line-up wasn't compelling enough to attract fringe TNA fans.

 

TNA had been drawing in the 0.7 to 0.9 range most weeks in its Saturday night timeslot, its timeslot dating back to its debut on Spike TV last October. It averaged a 0.8 rating the past ten weeks on Saturday nights. The majority of those viewers - 75 percent, in fact - watched the replay on Saturday night despite the new Thursday night timeslot. If those viewers forgot or didn't know of the timeslot change, many of them may shift to watching Thursday nights from now on. That could mean that despite not having the hook of Sting's first TV match in five years, TNA could reasonably expect a bigger rating next week.

 

If TNA is able to match a rating for The Ultimate Fighter sometime in the next few weeks, it will raise its stature within Spike TV, since UFC is the darling of Spike TV right now - and in some ways, of cable TV, since it's an exciting new genre showing ratings momentum. The two-hour live "Ultimate Fight Night" special the week before on Spike drew a 1.6 rating. TNA could conceivably, in a best case scenario, match that rating within the next few weeks if some of those Saturday viewers switch over - assuming most of them aren't repeat viewers (which seems like a safe bet, but it's not something Nielsen Media Research tracks).

 

Sources say TNA's parent company, Panda Energy, is thrilled with TNA right now and sees it as a potential cash cow in a few years, making the losses incurred so far during the investment period seem insignificant. Sources also say TNA is holding back on going after big name signings until they get into prime time. Goldberg was pursued recently, but not chased. Kevin Nash is sitting on the sidelines despite being under contract. Big money offers to really compete with WWE's contracts may come about once Spike decides to give TNA what it really wants - which is two hours in prime time, preferably on Monday nights. The ratings this week are a step toward that becoming reality. Next week, though, could humble any optimism.

 

That's pretty interesting....I wonder if TNA should consider using the old SNME booking strategy of putting the draw on before people get tired and tune out and the workrate match on last because they know the die-hards will stick around for it. I'm tempted to say yes, but then again, considering they are trying to lure UFC fans and not casuals, starting with the high-flying or hard hitting action instead of the names is probably for the best.