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PWinsider.com asked representatives at Viacom, parent company of SpikeTV, for comment on the TMZ story that they had decided not to renew TNA Impact. We were told:
"Per Viacom company policy - we don’t comment on ongoing negotiations."
Obviously, that would mean they are still in negotiations with TNA.;
1:34 PM update.
TMZ reported earlier that Spike TV has broken off negotiations with TNA and would not be carrying Impact after the current contract expired in October.
Dixie Carter just tweeted the following in response to the story:
"Negotiations with @SpikeTV are ongoing. Stay tuned and be sure to tune in this Thursday night for Ultimate X on #ImpactOnSpike!!"
Obviously, she is refuting the TMZ story, which you can read below.
Also, TNA executive Bob Ryder tweeted:
"Reports are not true. Negotiations with @SpikeTV are ongoing."
***
TMZ.com is reporting that sources have informed them that Spike quietly canceled TNA Impact Wrestling "last week" and that TNA is looking for a new potential home for their series.
PWInsider.com has not independently confirmed that story but has reached out to sources within Spike and TNA requesting confirmation on the report. That said, the rumors regarding that status have been quietly making the rounds for several weeks.
I do know that several weeks ago, TNA was still negotiating with Spike. There is also a version of the story floating around that Dixie Carter informed TNA staff of the cancellation at a meeting earlier this week. While there was indeed a staff meeting on Wednesday 7/23, I am told nothing of the sort was stated and that the majority of it was discussion of strategies for the next three weeks of TV promotion.
TNA debuted on Spike on 10/1/05 as a one hour late-night series before expanding into a two hour series that eventually moved to a prime-time timeslot.
TNA's current deal takes them through October. Those episodes will be taped the first week of August at the Manhattan Center in NYC.
This past Thursday's episode was the highest audience for the series since April of this year.
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