As reported earlier, TNA sent out a press release on Friday stating that Dixie Carter and Hulk Hogan would be making a “major announcement” on Monday afternoon prior to the iMPACT! tapings. It is almost certain that TNA will be announcing that iMPACT! is moving to Monday nights in March.
Following the ratings success of January 4th’s Monday night iMPACT! special, TNA and Spike have been working out a deal that would bring iMPACT! to Monday nights permanently. While there were serious of hang-ups during the negotiations, most of the major hurdles have been cleared.
No word on if they’ll run from 8-10EST or 9-11 EST although there were rumors several weeks ago that TNA iMPACT! would run from 9-11pm (eastern), head-to-head with WWE RAW for two hours straight. The show will not be live each week at the beginning, but it’s certainly an option down the road if the show is a success and the show generates more money. It appears right now that one week will be live and the following week will be taped on Tuesday. They would continue that rotation (one week live, one week taped) for the time being.
As for what qualifies as successful, it’s believed that a 1.2-1.5 is what both sides are expecting. There is always the possibility that Spike moves the show back to Thursday nights in the event that the rating falls off significantly, but the network is said to be behind TNA and will give them some time to establish themselves on Monday nights.
Stay tuned throughout the weekend as we hope to get more on this.
CONFIRMATION: TNA To Monday’s – 8-10EST – March 8th Start Date!!