Dixie Carter smells blood. She believes now is the time for her Total Nonstop Action pro wrestling promotion to gain ground in its battle for market share against Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment behemoth.
TNA plans to accomplish that goal by dialing up its television exposure, staging more live matches on the road, stronger merchandise sales, and through the buzz created from having Hulk Hogan as its front man.
TNA also is using a page from the WWE’s past, presenting a rougher style of wrestling that its rival abandoned two years ago in favor of a PG television rating (see related story). Thumb tacks, broken glass and barbed wire are welcome.
“There are two things that distinguish us from our competitors,” said Carter, president of Nashville-based TNA. “We have more action, and our competitor has become a PG show; we’re TV-14. Ours is going to be edgier and appeal to a slightly older audience. … We have matches that are violent, where there is blood.”
Pro wrestler Jeff Jarrett and his father, Jerry, started TNA eight years ago with the model of selling weekly pay-per-view performances. That evolved into weekly television appearances on Spike.
The wrestling promotion presents a rougher
style of wrestling, complete with blood, as
it tries to gain ground on the WWE.
Carter, whose background includes representing record labels, performers and athletes, has been involved with TNA from the start. And when TNA ran short of money, she persuaded Panda Energy, started in 1982 by her parents, Robert and Janice Carter, to invest in the company and become the majority owner.
Carter said TNA has been profitable the past couple of years, though she wouldn’t disclose specific figures for the private company. TNA said it experienced EBIDTA (earnings before interest, depreciation, taxes and amortization) growth of 75 percent from 2008 to 2009.
“Our revenues have grown significantly,” Carter said. “We’re finally getting the momentum we need. Sometimes you have to get to a tipping point before things start to break. … People are more aware of us than ever.”
Still, TNA endured a ratings spanking from WWE in the first couple of months of 2010. Buoyed by the addition of Hogan and friends, TNA and Spike decided to move its flagship “Impact” show from Thursday nights to Mondays, to compete head-to-head with WWE’s long-running “Raw” series.
The results weren’t pretty. TNA’s ratings fell below 1.0, and it recently returned “Impact” to Thursday nights.
TNA still wants to increase its revenue by expanding its television presence, but with a different approach. On Spike, TNA is adding “Reaction” to join “Impact” on Thursday nights. The one-hour, documentary-style series follows TNA’s wrestlers in and out of the ring.
Overseas, TNA airs “Explosion,” which recaps “Impact” plus adds story lines, and “Epics,” a one-hour show hosted by Mick Foley and themed around “Best Of,” such as the best cage matches, bloodiest matches, etc.
TNA also seeks to increase pay-per-view revenue, both domestically and overseas. Those shows are presented free to viewers in India and the United Kingdom, where networks have paid for the rights to show the program, while they are shown through the traditional pay-per-view model to viewers in Australia.
| Average ratings for key WWE and TNA programs |
| Program | Network | Rating | Viewers (000s) |
| WWE Raw | USA | 2.9 | 4,926 |
| WWE Smackdown | MyTV | 2 | 3,449 |
| TNA Impact | Spike | 1 | 1,607 |
Measurement period: Sept. 31, 2009-May 31, 2010
Source: The Nielsen Co. |
“They’ve been great people to work with, both at the creative and business level,” said Brian Diamond, senior vice president of sports and specials for Spike. “We’ve found them to be very innovative. … To have a show that performs continuously on Thursday nights is key and critical to our network’s success.”
TNA also will increase the number of “house shows” (live road events) to 85 or 90 this year, mostly in the United States, along with trips to the U.K., France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. TNA also is negotiating appearances in India, Australia and Spain.
At one time, TNA had shows only at a 1,200-person facility at Universal Studios in Orlando, rarely venturing elsewhere. Touring stood at 13 non-Orlando shows in 2007. But starting in 2008, TNA took its show to many other cities across the United States, and added international dates.
“It’s imperative,” Carter said. “Universal Studios, we’re very lucky to have them as a marketing partner. But it’s very important that you go and bring the show to other people.”
In terms of the merchandising of toys and souvenirs, TNA has pushed for more online sales and has expanded the number of items it offers. Carter said 2010 sales are double those of 2009, but she would not disclose specifics. TNA will roll out a new toy line July 1, produced by Jakks Pacific of Walnut, Calif. — action figures, collectible items, the ring, belts and more.
The merchandise is themed around TNA’s talent roster, which is a mixture of homegrown wrestlers, such as A.J. Styles, Jay Lethal and Robert Roode; WWE veterans, including Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam, Jeff Hardy, Ken Anderson (“Mr. Kennedy” in WWE), Kevin Nash and Scott Hall; and World Championship Wrestling veteran Sting (Steve Borden).
And then there’s Hogan, who joined TNA this year.
“I would put our product up against any product in the world and feel confident it’s the better show,” Carter said. “But we need exposure, and he’s brought those additional eyeballs to us.”
Bruce Goldberg writes for the Denver Business Journal, an affiliated publication.
