Anthem Sports Group president Carlos Silva recently spoke to JohnWallStreet.com about his plans to grow TNA Wrestling, that includes a new media rights deal which would allow them to air TNA’s flagship IMPACT show live 52 weeks a year. He added how WWE features TNA on every major WWE and NXT show.
“We are [regularly] being featured on every major WWE and NXT platform. PLE’s as well as weekly programming on The CW and their other [broadcast] outlets like Peacock. This [has resulted in] a huge [television] audience lift for [us], along with all the social media support we get from [them].”
It was noted that WWE’s owned and operated channels have published over 1,000 posts referencing TNA Wrestling and/or one of its stars this year. In addition, Blinkfire Analytics reports that those post have garnered over 205 million impressions worth more than $5.3 million in earned media value. Furthermore, the new TNA regime is focused on seeking a new distribution partner to not only enhance the company’s exposure, but also generate more sponsors and advertisers.
A “new media rights deal will help us build a more consistent fan base with larger reach,” Silva said. “It will also provide us the opportunity to go live 52 weeks a year, and in today’s world live matters [in terms of fan interest and revenues].”
Silva noted that when IMPACT airs live on ASX-TV, they hit around around 100,000 viewers, which is up from the 50,000 in 2024, while adding that IMPACT is the highest rated show on AXS TV. Furthermore, Silva said because the network is not a sports outlet, the show really doesn’t belong there.
Silva said that leadership believes TNA Wrestling IMPACT would benefit dramatically from having proper lead-ins and lead-outs for its broadcasts.
“That’s the name of the game in programming. A weekly number between 250,000-500,000, in terms of Nielsen-esque P2+ households, is perfectly realistic on a network [that is a good fit and] in 40 or 50 million homes.” AXS TV is currently available in 30 million US homes.
Silva said they are looking for “Something in the $10mm/year range is where we [and CAA] think we should be.” He said they are also talking with linear networks, along with some of the newer platforms looking for foundational programming as a centerpiece.
“We’re talking to [all the established] linear guys and a couple of newer platforms that need a foundational [programming] centerpiece. There are a couple of networks, that look like Spike [TV] in today’s world, we could be a good fit for; the same way [UFC and TNA were for that network a decade or two ago].”
The report concluded by indicating that Silva stated that Anthem is still trying to figure out how sports fits into the long-term vision of the company.
“Either we keep [the portfolio] and continue to grow [it], or there could be a spinoff of the Anthem Sports Division.”
There has been ongoing speculation that WWE’s parent company, TKO will eventually purchase Anthem’s assets, or at the very least acquire TNA Wrestling.
As of January, TNA began airing on Sportsnet in Canada as part of a new media rights deal. The network lost WWE programming, which moved to Netflix, as part of WWE’s multi-year agreement with the streaming service.
TNA’s Slammiversary pay-per-view on Sunday, July 20 will emanate from the UBS Arena in Belmont Park, New York. At the time of this writing, WrestleTix notes that, 3,510 tickets have been distributed for the show, with a current set-up of 4,229.
