Report: Spike TV Going In New Direction

At the PROMAX/BDA annual conference of marketing executives two weeks ago, Spike TV made it clear they intend on rebranding and trying to change its image from a station mainly targeting males 18-34 to both males and females 18-49.

The network is expecting to lose UFC programming and what this new direction change means for TNA and the weekly Impact Wrestling show is unknown. The show continues to draw well demographic wise and averages anywhere from 1.6-1.8 million viewers per week.

If Spike was to drop TNA, it would mean the end of the company unless they were able to secure another television deal. It doesn't appear likely given that it doubles the network's current average rating and is not expensive based on network standards for first-run programming.

So while it would feel like the show is safe, anything is possible with this new direction change by Spike. It should be noted that Spike made no mention at all about TNA at the conference and instead focused on other shows with a passing reference to UFC.

Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter