Author Topic: ROH on Destination America?? (Read 4948 times)

SupTool · « **on:** May 27, 2015, 01:34:17 PM »

Looks like it's really happening! What in the ever loving frock?

FreebirdSTF · « **Reply #1 on:** May 27, 2015, 01:39:15 PM »

That's pretty cool that Destination America is finally getting in the wrestling business.

SupTool · « **Reply #2 on:** May 27, 2015, 02:02:20 PM »

From MVP's Twitter

@The305MVP: At no time was TNA talent (that I'm aware of) notified of ROH airing on @DestAmerica . I'll refrain from commenting until after "the call".

SupTool · « **Reply #3 on:** May 27, 2015, 02:51:53 PM »

These will be them same episodes that are airing on the Sinclair family of networks. So no exclusive to DA. Fine by me as I don't get Any of the Sinclair networks here

Zandrax · « **Reply #4 on:** May 27, 2015, 03:02:58 PM »

http://www.a1-wrestling.com/blog/2015/05/27/breaking-news-ring-of-honor-to-air-on-destination-america/

Press release namedrops Samoa Joe. Interesting...

I have no problem believing the talent was left in the dark, but it's difficult to believe TNA Management wasn't in on this. Corgan made a cryptic tweet implying that Meltzer was being worked when the cancellation story hit.

tr0042 · « **Reply #5 on:** May 27, 2015, 03:15:17 PM »

Quote from: SupTool on May 27, 2015, 02:51:53 PM

These will be them same episodes that are airing on the Sinclair family of networks. So no exclusive to DA. Fine by me as I don't get Any of the Sinclair networks here

I'm fine since I got rid of cable and can only see ROH on local.

FreebirdSTF · « **Reply #6 on:** May 27, 2015, 03:25:24 PM »

Quote from: SupTool on May 27, 2015, 02:51:53 PM

These will be them same episodes that are airing on the Sinclair family of networks. So no exclusive to DA. Fine by me as I don't get Any of the Sinclair networks here

The old Channel 36 (WATL?) was airing ROH at midnight Saturday nights at one point.

According to this, it still is.

http://www.rohwrestling.com/content/ROHTVListings

SupTool · « **Reply #7 on:** May 27, 2015, 03:35:07 PM »

Quote from: Zandrax on May 27, 2015, 03:02:58 PM

http://www.a1-wrestling.com/blog/2015/05/27/breaking-news-ring-of-honor-to-air-on-destination-america/

Press release namedrops Samoa Joe. Interesting...

I have no problem believing the talent was left in the dark, but it's difficult to believe TNA Management wasn't in on this. Corgan made a cryptic tweet implying that Meltzer was being worked when the cancellation story hit.

Alvarez just mentioned the RoH deal was in the works for awhile, but TNA wasn't informed of the news until this morning.

FreebirdSTF · « **Reply #8 on:** May 27, 2015, 03:37:47 PM »

FATSEXY · « **Reply #9 on:** May 27, 2015, 04:21:21 PM »

Quote from: FreebirdSTF on May 27, 2015, 01:39:15 PM

That's pretty cool that Destination America is finally getting in the wrestling business.

lololololololol

EDGECRUSHER · « **Reply #10 on:** May 27, 2015, 06:01:30 PM »

I'll give ROH another shot, their production levels were so fucking low with Sinclair. Shocking since Sinclair is a TV company and Chikara was routinely putting out a much better product visually speaking.

This is going to be a lead in for TNA, maybe to help draw viewers in. However, even with ROH's current "not so great" product, they will make TNA look bad.

Samoa Joe has contractual dates with ROH, but with this news I am sure WWE will tell him it's us or them. Wouldn't blame them either.

Zandrax · « **Reply #11 on:** May 27, 2015, 07:27:23 PM »

It'll be interesting to see the numbers when they come out. I think it's a bit premature to assume that ROH will get the 500k viewers that Impact has been getting (counting the immediate replay)

KoppoKick · « **Reply #12 on:** May 27, 2015, 08:05:29 PM »

Too bad the 5/16/15 ROH TV show is not available on DA. Nice opener with ACH vs. Adam Page and how can you not love The Briscoes vs. War Machine? Watch it here: http://rohwrestling.com/tv/current

Here's their tag match against each other last Summer from Philly:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weUHa5mX8Ig[/youtube]

Torgo · « **Reply #13 on:** May 27, 2015, 09:39:20 PM »

The fuck is Destination America?

CJC · « **Reply #14 on:** May 27, 2015, 11:28:21 PM »

Quote from: FreebirdSTF on May 27, 2015, 01:39:15 PM

That's pretty cool that Destination America is finally getting in the wrestling business.

Posts like this are why I wish that A1 had a "Like" button like FB. I'm picturing Seth curled up in the fetal position after reading that.

Dixie Carter is SUCH an idiot.

CJC · « **Reply #15 on:** May 27, 2015, 11:31:32 PM »

Quote from: Zandrax on May 27, 2015, 03:02:58 PM

http://www.a1-wrestling.com/blog/2015/05/27/breaking-news-ring-of-honor-to-air-on-destination-america/

Press release namedrops Samoa Joe. Interesting...

I have no problem believing the talent was left in the dark, but it's difficult to believe TNA Management wasn't in on this. Corgan made a cryptic tweet implying that Meltzer was being worked when the cancellation story hit.

SOMEBODY was being worked, but it wasn't Meltzer.

Zandrax · « **Reply #16 on:** May 27, 2015, 11:40:49 PM »

Quote from: CJC on May 27, 2015, 11:31:32 PM

SOMEBODY was being worked, but it wasn't Meltzer.

Actually going by what we know he was. Just TNA was worked too.

If Meltzer wasn't worked, why didn't he know about this?

Quote from: CJC on May 27, 2015, 11:28:21 PM

Posts like this are why I wish that A1 had a "Like" button like FB. I'm picturing Seth curled up in the fetal position after reading that.

Dixie Carter is SUCH an idiot.

Define "idiot".

I've said for years the Dixie is not a booker.

FreebirdSTF · « **Reply #17 on:** May 28, 2015, 07:40:37 AM »

She's also not much of a leader from what I've seen of her over the years. So, other than being fathered by a guy who made a ton of money, what does she bring to the table?

FreebirdSTF · « **Reply #18 on:** May 28, 2015, 07:42:05 AM »

My understanding is TNA had zero advance notice about ROH coming aboard. If that's the case, how can this possibly be a good thing for them?

Zandrax · « **Reply #19 on:** May 28, 2015, 08:13:18 AM »

Quote from: FreebirdSTF on May 28, 2015, 07:42:05 AM

My understanding is TNA had zero advance notice about ROH coming aboard. If that's the case, how can this possibly be a good thing for them?

Honestly, I don't think it is either.

The Lawful Good Idealist in me hopes that it's a sign DA is welcoming more wrestling.

The Realist in me realizes this is a cost-cutting move. It's not that ROH is "better", it's that it's cheaper. If they can get a modest audience at a fraction of the cost, that's what they'll do.

Keller and Jim Ross have pointed out they believe DA wanted to book TNA. If ROH is a success, I think a similar thing could happen with them too, the network will want control of the wrestling company, and that never ends well. Heck it's already happened with Sinclair and ROH.

If anything TNA is proving how difficult it is to run a national wrestling company. Vince has been the only one who's been able to do it for any sustained length of time.

Zandrax · « **Reply #20 on:** May 28, 2015, 08:59:18 AM »

The Torch has a nice timeline of events

http://www.pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TNA_News_1/article_85270.shtml#.VWcQytp2bbg

Quote

The following is a timeline of events over the past 2-3 months that captures Destination America's relationship with TNA Wrestling and now Ring of Honor heading into a very interesting time period for both promotions.

- Spring Season: ROH and Destination America began TV discussions, just a few months into TNA's run on Dest. America. PWTorch editor Wade Keller tweeted Wednesday: "I'm told this DestAm-ROH deal was in works long before any falling out between DestAm and TNA. This was not a rushed deal, in other words."

This could be viewed one of two ways - Dest. America was starting to sour on TNA, but not pro wrestling, so they were preparing to find a replacement. Or, they felt that adding a relatively inexpensive wrestling show to create a programming block with TNA would help strengthen Impact, which they were already financially committed to. Overall, there was not a falling-out with TNA management at the time of Dest. America talking to ROH.

- Early April: Around the same time of ROH and Dest. America continuing to talk, TNA president Dixie Carter reportedly mis-directed a snarky email in response to a press release containing Impact viewership information. The press release was issued by Discovery Communications representing Destination America. Sources tell PWTorch that Carter's email went above Dest. America to Discovery officials.

The email gaffe was just one issue between TNA and Dest. America, as there was starting to be a falling-out independent of the email that landed at their parent company. Many Dest. America employees were not fans of TNA, especially because they had trouble selling advertising, but Discovery was still in TNA's corner at the time of the email.

- Friday, May 8: About one month later, Dest. America aired a "semi-live" episode of TNA Impact that was expected to perform well airing the same day that it was taped. However, TV viewership fell 16 percent from the previous week, which was partially attributed to Impact opposing NBA top star LeBron James in the NBA Playoffs.

- Monday, May 11: TV viewership for the May 8 episode was tabulated and reported. Carter's email was considered just one aspect of an ongoing fall-out, and lackluster viewership for this expensive episode was considered a tipping point.

- Around May 11: Dest. America circulated a memo announcing they were not including Impact on their fall TV line-up, according to the Wrestling Observer. Included in the reported memo was a key line capturing angst in the Dest. America offices: "I hope this is good news given all of the advertisers that included TNA on their DNA (Do Not Advertise) list."

Dest. America also captured viewership concerns: "While the ratings were strong, the audience was not large enough to justify the program investment."

At the time of the memo, Dest. America was still talking to ROH about a TV deal. Sources tell PWTorch that TNA was not aware of the talks at the time, which captures one of the big aspects of this story that TNA was kept out of the loop on Dest. America's talks with ROH.

"All indications are TNA was relatively blind-sided by this and certainly was not part of the negotiations and endorsing this move," reported Wade Keller in his Wednesday VIP Hotline.

Also notable in the reported memo was Dest. America saying: "We plan to honor the current contract and continue to air original episodes of TNA Wrestling on Friday nights through the end of the third quarter 2015."

- Friday, May 15: Just a few days after the memo was reportedly released, Dest. America announced they were moving Impact from Friday to Wednesday nights starting June 3.

So, within the same week of the internal memo being released stating Dest. America's commitment to Impact on Friday nights, Dest. America decided to move Impact to a new night. Was that because ROH talks were close to being finalized?

- Wednesday, May 20: The Observer released its report on Dest. America marking Impact for cancellation, about one week after the memo was circulated. TNA president Dixie Carter reportedly knew about the memo and was asked to address the situation prior to the report being released, but she did not comment. Once the report came out, some members of TNA management lashed out publicly via Twitter and there were internal discussions to issue a strong response.

- Thursday, May 21: TNA released a basic statement vaguely decrying to the report, but did not address anything specific within the report, which resulted in leaving talent in the dark on TNA's TV standing.

- Week of May 25: Dest. America and ROH finalized their TV deal, which called for an initial commitment period of 26 weeks of ROH's current syndicated TV show.

TNA, reportedly without knowledge of ROH's talks with Dest. America, scheduled a conference call with talent on May 27 to discuss their TV standing with Dest. America.

- Wednesday, May 27: Around 1:30 p.m. EST, ROH announced their deal with Destination America on Twitter. This was followed by a formal press release from Dest. America, ROH, and ROH's parent company Sinclair Broadcasting. The announcement jumped the gun on TNA's internal conference call with talent.

At 3:00 p.m. EST, TNA held their scheduled conference call to address their TV standing, which was originally to address last week's news, but suddenly took on new life shortly after the ROH announcement.

As reported Wade Keller, Carter said on the call that she believes that Dest. America is committed to carrying TNA programming in 2016.

However, when pressed by talent if there is an "out" clause for Destination America to cancel Impact this fall, Carter said due to legal advice and confidentiality clauses, she could not comment other than to say escape clauses are common in TV deals.

With about an hour-and-a-half for talent to process ROH's announcement, TNA tried to put them at ease with an optimistic stance, saying TNA was making plans for the 2016 season on Dest. America and they believed the ROH deal would be mutually beneficial for both companies.

However, coming out of the meeting, talent were frustrated by a lack of communication and firm answers on the company's U.S. TV future. After the call, those who commented publicly on Twitter took management's stance that ROH's deal would be beneficial for both sides to create a three-hour block of wrestling programming on Wednesday nights.

Whether or not TNA can make a case to stay on the network beyond September remains to be seen in this ongoing story. Notably, neither TNA nor Dest. America have formally commented on TNA's TV future. It could simply be a case of not wanting Impact to be a lame-duck show finishing out its run, but unless Dest. America officially announces the end of Impact on their network, it leaves the door open for the possibility of a change between now and September.

- Going forward: Since this is the wrestling business, there are those who believe TNA, ROH, and the network are working together to create interest in the wrestling shows.

But, as noted above, TNA reportedly was not aware of ROH's TV deal until late in the game. TNA is now taking the role of being a "good sport" acknowledging ROH's presence and now presenting the idea of Dest. America housing the #2 and #3 U.S. promotions in hopes of maintaining their position on the network beyond September and into 2016.

FreebirdSTF · « **Reply #21 on:** May 28, 2015, 12:38:09 PM »

I missed this one yesterday.

Zandrax · « **Reply #22 on:** May 28, 2015, 12:44:41 PM »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGOuDpFMFfE

He addresses those tweets here. Sounds like he was just making sure his options were open.

FreebirdSTF · « **Reply #23 on:** May 28, 2015, 01:38:06 PM »

He can spin it however he wants, but it's pretty clear what he's implying and again it doesn't paint a rosy picture for TNA.

CJC · « **Reply #24 on:** May 30, 2015, 01:24:39 AM »

Quote from: Zandrax on May 27, 2015, 11:40:49 PM

Actually going by what we know he was. Just TNA was worked too.

If Meltzer wasn't worked, why didn't he know about this?

Define "idiot".

I've said for years the Dixie is not a booker.

Meltzer reported that TNA was cancelled by DA, Dixie came out and strongly denied it, and her surrogates bashed Meltzer for the report. Well, the fact is, the show was cancelled, and Meltzer was right.

As for Dixie, she's the owner, the buck stops with her. She's proven time and again that she's in over her head.