This is certainly unpleasant news on an early Monday morning. According to TMZ, yes they somehow continue to break news; Spike TV has informed TNA or Impact Wrestling that they will not be renewing their television contract. The television contract runs through October so TNA has plenty of time to find a new television home according to the story. Apparently sixty days is ample time to find a new television deal? When the future of your company rests solely on American television distribution and that gets yanked from you, wouldn’t a little longer than 60 days be better? It isn’t clear yet whether Dixie Carter and others in TNA management knew Spike’s impending decision and despite their history of ignorance you would think they would have been in the know.

TNA has international television deals so they may be able to survive for a little bit longer if no television deal is reached for the United States but it won’t last much longer without it. TNA will surely spin this as a bump in the road but this is more akin to a mountain. TNA has had roughly the same audience since its arrival on Spike TV. For some networks a guaranteed million people on one given night but surveying the current landscape TNA doesn’t fit anywhere.  Spike was a perfect match for the company since they have nothing else going for it outside of Bar Rescue.

Regardless of the decision making, this isn’t a good situation for wrestling fans. ROH bumbles and blunders on a weekly basis with their television broadcast. Global Force Wrestling is a thing that exists on the internet but has no actual in ring product yet. WWE is a complacent rut of a company. There are plenty of independent promotions in the States but not one of those will make televisionn0 a national scale. TNA losing television distribution will probably leave a lot of talented performers looking for work. It is going to leave a void for wrestling fans who wanted an alternative to WWE.

This isn’t a done deal by any stretch. Spike TV could be using the non-renewal as a negotiation tool with TNA. Again, Spike TV doesn’t have anything going for it. So losing a million viewers a week seems like a risky business move.  TNA has nothing going for it outside of the same stagnant rating. The talk of a renewed creative aspect with the New York television tapings has led to a two week climb in ratings. This will be hard to ignore if it continues. If the ratings continue climbing TNA will find themselves in a better position for the next deal or the ability to make Spike TV grovel a bit.  The story will be interesting to follow but really, the end result seems obvious. -Jeremy