As the future of TNA Wrestling on Destination America continues to be in question, The Wrestling Observer is reporting Destination America General Manager Mark Etkind recently left to accept a similar role with The Science Channel, and Jane Latman has replaced Etkind.
Etkind previously made the call to eliminate all pro wrestling from Destination America, but with him leaving and Latman taking over, Latman will now be evaluating all programming on Destination America and making decisions based on the evaluation. Because TNA Wrestling and Ring of Honor do above Destination America averages in terms of ratings, Latman might have a different opinion than Etkind and might decide to retain pro wrestling.
There still remains strong doubt, however, regarding the futures of ROH and TNA on DA, as the main issue with TNA has not been the ratings, but rather the cost involved in producing TNA programming.
As of now, TNA Wrestling is expected to be off Destination America in early 2016, and Ring of Honor’s deal with DA expires in December. While no official announcements have been made regarding the futures of either TNA or ROH on DA, about a month ago an advertiser tried to buy wrestling time on Destination America for early 2016 and was told DA would not be airing any wrestling programming at that time. It should be noted this took place before Jane Latman took over the role as DA General Manager.
Pro Wrestling is said to be a very low priority within Destination America, so much so that it’s hardly spoken about amongst higher-ups at meetings.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
