Thibs
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Posts posted by Thibs
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Finally.
QuoteFor Immediate Release – January 4, 2017
Anthem Sports & Entertainment Forms Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions, LLC., Acquires Control of IMPACT Wrestling
Toronto, Canada (January 4, 2017) - Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp. today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a majority interest in TNA IMPACT Wrestling, and has formed Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions, LLC. Anthem also owns Fight Network, the world’s premier 24/7 multi-platform channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, which is IMPACT Wrestling’s exclusive broadcast partner in Canada and worldwide digital partner.
“We are thrilled to have acquired TNA IMPACT Wrestling,” said Ed Nordholm, Executive Vice President of Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp., the parent of Fight Network. “As we grow Anthem’s linear, digital and mobile platforms globally, top tier content with global appeal is key to that success and this acquisition is a perfect strategic addition to our portfolio. IMPACT has been a dominant wrestling brand around the world for more than a decade and we are confident that Anthem can leverage its assets and strategic partnerships to take IMPACT Wrestling to even greater heights.”
Mr. Nordholm, who has been the managing director of the IMPACT Ventures Board of Managers since October 2016, will assume the position of President of Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions, LLC. Dixie Carter will resign from her position as Chairman of Impact Ventures and join the Advisory Board of Fight Media Group, which holds all of the combat sports-related assets of Anthem, where her focus will be on the global growth of the combat sports-related brands owned by Anthem.
“Anthem has been a great partner for many years,” added Dixie Carter. “We have worked hard to find the right company who would acquire TNA, use its strategic influence and have a long-term commitment to the brand. TNA’s incredible fans, talent and staff deserved to see the brand continue to thrive after 15+ years of incredible growth. I’m excited to move to a new position and work with Anthem on their global strategic plan, and I am confident TNA IMPACT Wrestling is going to be a huge part of their success.” -
So a year later, it looks like the POP deal is actually paying off-- who would've thought. In addition to airing on the POP network, Impact will now be airing LIVE on Hulu starting later this year.
On the surface, this seems like a huge deal for them.
QuoteTNA IMPACT TO BE PART OF HULU'S NEW LIVE STREAMING TV SERVICE
By Mike Johnson on 2017-01-04 13:37:00It was announced today that Pop, the home of TNA Impact Wrestling in the United States, will be added to Hulu's new live streaming TV service, which will roll out later this year.
This will allow fans who wish to watch TNA to be able to do so even if they cut the cord from cable.
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan. 4, 2017 -- Hulu today announced a comprehensive, new agreement with CBS Corporation to carry America's most-watched broadcast network, CBS, as well as popular sports and entertainment channels CBS Sports Network and POP, with the potential to add additional networks in the future. All networks in the deal will be available to stream live, with much of their programming available on-demand as well, through Hulu's new multichannel, live TV streaming service, set to launch in the coming months.
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1 hour ago, Matt788 said:
Rosenberg displayed levels of masochism that would make Michael Cole proud. He was doing great and then Heyman and JBL just gutted him. It was awful.
Its not like he tried to hit back and failed. He was just obviously scared of losing the gig.
Wouldn't have taken much to point out Raw's ratings pattern for the last several years.
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Not that it'll change anything for the Bulls but...
Butler went ahead and dropped 52 on Charlotte last night. Topped it off with 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 1 block.
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Right. I made my previous post knowing full well that they'd never let anyone have a voice that wouldn't tow the company line.
JBL was going to bring Russo on his show months ago and they nixed that.
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Ya know, it would be nice if they got someone who could actually stand up to a JBL or Heyman while they tow the company line.
Like maybe mentioning the fact that viewership for Raw consistently drops as the show progresses, or the fact that the 3rd hour is often times the least viewed hour.
Watching Rosenberg cower as Heyman and JBL recited pro WWE talking points was vomit inducing.
Can Rosenberg, bring in Conrad Thompson.
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Just in terms of being a character and staying true to her character. In a day in age where character and psychology are very much ignored in favor of getting as many moves in as possible.
I'm personally not a huge fan of women's wrestling at all but this girl engages me.
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Rosemary better be all over that show this year.
She stands out more than any women on Raw or Smackdown since she's actually a character. She can be their female Undertaker.
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Encouraging to hear that they're going back on the road next year. Hopefully that includes filming tv.
I recently watched some mid 90's Raw's on the network when they were filming in high school gyms and honestly, it didn't look bad at all, with proper lighting and camera angles. Wouldn't be the worst idea for TNA.
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PWInsider reports that sources state Anthem Sports & Entertainment will officially become the owners of Impact Wrestling and its parent company/assets on January 1, 2017. There will likely be an official announcement about the news then. It’s also expected that there will be an official meeting with talent next week in Orlando.
Meanwhile, Anthem is currently still in talks with Jeff Jarrett but it’s not believed they’ve reached a deal to bring him back in an official capacity at this time. Global Force Wrestling ran an event last night as part of a private event and Jarrett has been going to Los Angeles to work on GFW broadcast deals. Anthem is also working on re-signing talent who have contracts set to expire in 2017, like The Hardys and Drew Galloway.
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Ahh gotcha.
The ironic thing is this made Abyss look like more of a monster than anything they've done in 10 years.
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I forget, did the Abyss getting hit by a train thing ever get shown? Remember seeing it in previews but not during the show
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Super entertaining show that obviously should be done no more than once or twice a year. Rock and Roll Express and the Triple H burial were my favorite parts.
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Here's the full article. Sounds like Anthem is trying to get background info on how the company's been run during different times, not necessarily bringing Jarrett in.
QuoteAs TNA gets set to wrap up their tumultuous year of 2016, the year ahead will be one of necessary change under the new regime of Anthem Sports and Entertainment.
With the settlement involving Billy Corgan now behind them, Anthem Sports now has the task of overseeing a wrestling promotion and reviving the TNA brand in the marketplace.
Earlier this year, Challenge TV in the U.K. announced they would not be continuing their relationship with TNA when the current deal expires, a part of the world that TNA found great success in through their television exposure and annual Maximum Impact tours.
The company remains on television with long-terms international deals in India on Sony Six, in South Africa on SuperSport and in Canada on Fight Network (which is run by Anthem Sports).
We at The LAW can confirm that Anthem has had conversations with a handful of people from within the industry, the most interesting name being TNA co-founder Jeff Jarrett. Anthem informed us that Jarrett does not have a role with the company or serving as an advisor with nothing beyond conversations at this point. The talks were characterized as more background information for Anthem and it would be premature to assume Jarrett will have any role within the company.
Jarrett resigned from the company three-years ago but did remain on as an investor and had a brief return in 2015 where Jarrett worked the Slammiversary pay-per-view, was inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame and was able to promote his Global Force Wrestling brand on TNA programming.
When it comes to TNA creative, most believe the time period they were most successful came between 2005-2006 where Jarrett oversaw the creative direction and was run by Scott D’Amore, who works with Jarrett presently through Global Force Wrestling.
It was during this time period that TNA had limited television through Fox Sports Net for a time in 2005, then had their television online before signing on with Spike TV and the word of mouth led to good numbers on pay-per-view by the standards of TNA’s history on pay-per-view.
The TNA model of 2004-2006 was very reminiscent of the modern day NXT brand with hot talent from the independent scene (many of which are now under WWE deals), television based out of a small venue in Florida and the attempt to tour outside of Florida.
Another issue for TNA heading into the next set of television tapings is their creative team, which recently lost writer David Lagana, who left the company in November and had been with TNA since 2011. Ideally, they are hoping to add another writer and possibly 2-3 for the creative team.
One of the other interesting aspects for 2017 is how open TNA will become to working with other wrestling promotions. Earlier this month, Matt Hardy appeared by video on the ROH Final Battle event to set up a future match between The Young Bucks and The Hardys. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has since reported that the match is scheduled for WrestleMania weekend in Lakeland, Florida on April 1st. It is unknown yet if the match and event will be made available for broadcast or restricted to those in attendance for the show.
It’s an interesting situation when it comes to two separate wrestling promotions with their own television in place, but in this case Anthem owns TNA and airs Ring of Honor television in Canada and therefore would appear to be more receptive to cross promotion of talent and inter-promotional ideas to bolster both brands.
The largest issue remains their U.S. television situation and how viable the company can be with such a limited audience. Since November, Impact has averaged 339,000 viewers on POP TV (and that’s factoring out Thanksgiving night, which led to their lowest number on POP on the holiday). This comes prior to the airing of Total Nonstop Deletion, an episode of Impact that has the most buzz for any edition of Impact in months with a two-hour program filmed from The Hardy compound in North Carolina.
Following this week’s episode, Impact is expected to have a pair of “Best of” shows for the remaining two weeks of 2016 and then present a new episode on Thursday January 5th from the upcoming tapings in Orlando.
2017 WHATEVER THE HELL USED TO BE TNA DISCUSSION THREAD
in FEDS JUST TRYING TO MAKE A BUCK
Posted
TNA seems to be getting away from the flippy-flop stuff so WWE is probably the better spot at this point-- no pun intended.
They barely used him last year so its no surprise.