TNA Wrestling has officially secured a new television home. According to a report from Fightful Select, the promotion has finalized a major deal with AMC to air its programming. The show, now titled Thursday Night Impact, will air on AMC and stream on AMC+ on Thursday nights from 9 PM ET to 11 PM ET. The deal was first reported weeks ago by Jon Alba of Sports Illustrated and was made official on December 2.
WWE Partnership Status
Following the announcement, rumors immediately began to circulate suggesting that the partnership between WWE and TNA was being terminated. However, TNA representatives vehemently denied these claims when speaking to Fightful. In fact, TNA reps went as far as to state that WWE actually aided the company in landing the television deal. WWE sources also confirmed they were aware the deal was coming ahead of the official announcement.
While no one within TNA has been told the partnership is ending, some talent expressed hope regarding the creative direction moving forward. According to the report, talent said they hoped that “catering to NXT” would not continue as part of the relationship.
Schedule And Hiatus
The announcement noted that the first show on the new network will air live on January 15. Fightful Select reports that subsequent episodes will feature a mix of live and taped broadcasts, with an internal belief that the company is required to produce a certain number of live shows.
The report also shed light on TNA’s recent schedule gap. When asked why the company went dark for a month following the Bound For Glory event, sources indicated it was likely due to budget reasons and the need to finalize this television deal. Work on the agreement reportedly began in the spring and was kept within a very close circle of people.
Roster Reaction
The general reaction from the staff and roster has been described as unanimously positive. Talent and staff were briefed on the news on the morning of December 2, just ahead of the public announcement. There is a common hope among the roster that the creative direction will see a significant step up now that the platform has expanded.
This is just a snippet of the story. For complete details, please visit Fightful Select at Patreon.com/Fightful.
