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LOTS OF DETAILS ON TNA'S NEW DEAL WITH SPIKETV

As I wrote last week in the Elite section of PWInsider.com, the new TNA-SpikeTV deal locks in TNA Impact Wrestling on the air with the network through October 2014. The current deal was set to expire this October, so they've signed a new two year contract. There are a lot of relieved people working for TNA right now that the deal was signed and signed as early as it was.

One of the points discussed during negotiations was that Ultimate Fighter, which left Spike for F/X as part of the big money UFC-FOX TV deal is only doing around 1.2 million viewers while TNA is bringing close to 1.7 million viewers in for Spike weekly, with much of that audience being the coveted Males 18-34, which is a base any cable network would want. The goal among both sides is to get that audience viewing number to two million a week.

The language in the contract is specifically for Impact Wrestling, not additional programming but should the right project come along, whether it be pro wrestling or something else TNA produces (such as their discusses "Soccer Moms" reality show), Spike would be interested in discussing the project. The last contract allowed Spike the right of first refusal for new TV projects. I have not heard whether that clause remained with the new deal, but it's likely.

There was no talk of live TNA specials for the network that I am aware of during the negotiations, but it's a possibility.

The contract language does not include holding more Impacts "on the road" outside of Orlando as part of the official deal but the plan is to do more of them this year, according to sources.

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