Source: JRsBarBq.com
WWE Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross recently commented on the silly comparisons between TNA Wrestling and WCW. In a very succinct manner, Ross trashes the comparisons noting that WCW aired on TBS and TNT – two cable channels that are in the upper echelon of cable television. On the other hand, Spike TV isn’t even in the top fifteen cable channels on television.
As always, Ross gives a good, nonpartisan perspective on a topic that is, in my mind, just bizarre. His blurb on TNA Wrestling is noted below for your review. Enjoy!
An emailer wanted to know if I thought that TNA was the ‘new WCW’ and my answer is no. Comparing the Turner Network that aired WCW back in the day ala TBS and TNT isn’t a fair comparison to the Spike Network. TNT was, as best as I recall, one of the top 1-3 cable networks in existence back in those days while Spike isn’t even in the top 15 cable networks in today’s marketplace. Some of the on air and in ring talents are the same but I’m not so sure that’s such a good thing either. I have many old friends who work for TNA and for their sake and for the sake of the biz in general I hope that TNA does well.
For those fans who theorize that TNA will eventually ‘kick WWE’s ass’ those folks need to lay off the ‘magic mushrooms.’ It’s not about ‘kicking WWE’s ass’ for TNA.
What does the cable network have to do with broadcasting a show?
As a fan i am not botherd where I can watch TNA.
Hey Matt,
Thanks for the comment – and I completely agree. I’d watch TNA Wrestling if it was on the most obscure channel on the dial. However, I think Ross was trying to refer to Spike not having the same type of promotional budget to push its licensed products that USA Network, TNT, or TBS has at their disposals.
On top of that, the lower a channel is in overall viewership, the harder it is for that channel to get picked up by cable providers. You can see at the link below that Spike doesn’t have a single show in the Cable Top 25 from last week (which is common for Spike):
http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/01/19/cable-top-25-bcs-championship-jersey-shore-the-game-top-weekly-cable-viewing/79301
And you can see here that in terms of total viewership, Spike doesn’t even rank in the Top 25 cable channels:
http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/01/19/bcs-championship-keeps-espn-on-top-cable-ratings-plus-oprahs-own-ratings-update/78946
So, what I think Ross was trying to refer to in a succinct manner was that if TNA Wrestling was on ESPN, FX, A&E, USA Network, or TBS (the Top 5 cable channels in total viewership last week), they would have greater exposure and more resources to promote their product.
But that’s just me trying to figure out what Ross was leading to in his blog! Thanks again for the comment!
Fans with an opinion are junkies ? GPW will kick wwe and tna’s ass.