Spike TV, TNA renew "Impact" through 2012

Spike TV and TNA Wrestling have officially announced a three year deal to keep "TNA Impact" on Spike through the third quarter of 2012. Effective October 1, 2009, the new contract commissioned not only Impact but a series of ten one-hour specials based on TNA performers & matches.

TNA had been in negotiations with Spike for some time but there was little doubt all along that the two sides would reach an agreement. Nielsen ratings for "Impact" have held relatively steady at a level that has largely satisfied Spike.

The three-year deal was announced to TNA wrestling talent earlier on Monday. Awesome Kong subsequently posted about the deal via her Twitter feed, leaking the news to the world hours before TNA and Spike could make it official.

"ROH on HDNet" to make Monday slot debut

The weekly Ring of Honor Wrestling television program is set to make its Monday night debut this August 17 for HDNet, nine days after concluding its run on Saturdays, in an attempt to broaden its audience beyond its cult base.

Ring of Honor hopes not only to establish itself as the "wrestling" alternative to the more "entertainment" oriented WWE but to also piggyback off the preexisting "WWE Raw" audience. ROH will air in the 8 p.m. EDT slot, the hour before Raw for eastern/central U.S. viewers with a replay at 11 p.m. EDT. For west coasters, that means airings at 5 and 8 p.m. Pacific time.

The initial Monday episode will feature Tyler Black against Nigel McGuinness in a battle of long time Ring of Honor rivals. Kevin Steen will face Eddie Edwards in the promoted semi-main event matchup.

Ring of Honor's HDNet program to move to Monday nights

Ring of Honor Wrestling's weekly HDNet television program will be moved from Saturday to Monday nights, effective this August 17. Maintaining an 8 p.m. Eastern time slot, "ROH on HDNet" will effectively serve as a surrogate lead-in to "WWE Raw."

The official ROH/HDNet joint press release exclaimed that "pro wrestling returns to Monday night," a spin on the Ring of Honor's attempt to serve a more purist professional wrestling product than the entertainment-oriented Raw.

To be sure, HDNet should get at least a minor increase in the viewership of ROH wrestling from the jump away from Saturdays. However, what remains unaddressed are the continuing issues that HDNet has in securing carriage on the major cable systems. Without such access, the impact of this move will be limited.

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Ratings for Torrie Wilson's "I'm a Celebrity" dropping

After a semipromising beginning, Nielsen ratings for NBC's "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here" reality television series are dropping day by day.

The jungle competition program featuring ex-pro wrestler Torrie Wilson scored a respectable 2.6 preliminary demo rating among age 18-49 viewers for its extended Monday premiere. Unfortunately for the show, the same measure dropped to 2.2 for Tuesday's broadcast and a 1.8 for the Wednesday airing. (Ratings courtesy PIFeedback.com)

Torrie Wilson is one of several contestants threatened with elimination from the program based on a vote of the U.S. viewing public. Her status will be announced during the airing of Thursday's episode.

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Ring of Honor carrier HDNet to be dropped by Time Warner Cable

Ring of Honor Wrestling carrier HDNet will be dropped from all Time Warner Cable systems by the end of May, reports MultiChannel News.

Time Warner Cable itself confirmed the news in an announcement this week, citing a lack of mass appeal for HDNet's programming. HDNet and its founder Mark Cuban are trying, so far without success, to date to get the decision reversed. Should the decision stand, the loss of Time Warner Cable carriage would be a crippling blow to the fledgling Ring of Honor Wrestling television program.

As noted when this scenario first threatened two months ago, a severance of HDNet by Time Warner Cable combined with HDNet's preexisting lack of Comcast carriage would make ROH's weekly program inaccessible to the vast majority of the promotion's home fanbase.

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WWE Raw, Smackdown/ECW tapings moved to Los Angeles

In a resolution of sorts to the WWE vs. NBA dispute, WWE cancelled its plans for a live Raw telecast from Denver's Pepsi Center, instead moving the taping to Staples Center in Los Angeles.

World Wrestling Entertainment officially moved not only its Raw taping though but the next night's combined Smackdown/ECW taping as well to L.A. By no coincidence, Staples is the home arena for the Los Angeles Lakers, the team playing the Denver Nuggets in their ongoing NBA conference title series.

WWE lost the original Pepsi Center taping site in Denver after the NBA claimed it to host a playoff game next Monday. There were no arena conflicts with the Sunday house show in Loveland, Colorado or the Smackdown/ECW taping set for Colorado Springs but WWE cancelled both events to make the Staples Center logistics work.

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Of course, the dispute has not ended amicably or really at all. The Nuggets/Pepsi Center ownership claimed a deal had already been arranged to move the Raw taping to Sunday before Vince McMahon made his own arrangements with Staples Center.

On the flip side, McMahon has continued to disparage the business skills of Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke. What the Nuggets owner will soon learn is that McMahon is not about to let this situation go.

The move of WWE tapings to L.A. is just the latest of many jugular shots that McMahon will take at Kroenke. With a 5 on 5 'tribute' match and a McMahon confrontation with 'Kroenke' already scheduled, expect next week's WWE telecasts to depict Kroenke and his Denver Nuggets in the absolutely worst possible light.
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WWE Superstars to make WGN America premiere

"WWE Superstars" will premiere this Thursday night on WGN America, marking the fourth regular weekly program from World Wrestling Entertainment. Superstars will differ from other WWE programs in not being brand specific, instead a program featuring wrestlers from the already established brands.

Contrary to my original speculation, Superstars matches will be first run though with rare exceptions, we still shouldn't expect major star power to headline the program. Of course, the premiere episode will feature one of those exceptions with Undertaker matched against Matt Hardy. Announcing duties will be shared among the already established crews, at least for the time being.

The program launch comes as a watershed moment for WGN America as it attempts to establish original programming to gain traction in the cable television universe. "Superstars" will air at 8 p.m. EDT/PDT Thursdays with repeat airings at 11 p.m. EDT/PDT. It won't be available on the Chicago/Canadian WGN feed except in Sunday repeat form.

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