Impact Wrestling is officially leaving Pop TV and heading to a new channel in 2019.
Impact announced on Friday morning that it has signed an agreement with Pursuit Channel to being airing the weekly “IMPACT!” series starting January 11, 2018.
Pursuit was described as the “most widely distributed outdoor network and one of the fastest growing channels in the country.” The channel first launched back in 2008 on DirecTV and later became available on Verizon FiOS, Centurylink Prism, AT&T Prism and Cox Communication. It’s also available on DirecTV and Dish. The channel also has OTT options available on Roku, Apple and some Smart TV providers.
It’s been a wild ride for the Impact television series and its former company known as TNA Wrestling. Since the purchase by Anthem in 2017, the channel had remained on Pop TV since 2016. Impact first bought time on Fox Sports Net back in 2004 before landing a television deal with Spike TV, shortly after WWE programming went back to the USA Network. That agreement with Spike ended in 2014, setting up a very short one year agreement for the series on Destination America.
The show cut its audience in half on both Pop TV and Destination America, averaging only 330,000 viewers in 2015 on Destination America. The show averaged 310,000 viewers in the first year on Pop TV, while the second year averaged 277,000 viewers. Impact had been only averaging 257,000 viewers in 2018 so far, with the show shifting out of prime time in October to a later time slot of 10:00-Midnight. As a comparison, the show had been averaging 1.9 million viewers in its final year on Spike TV in 2014.
You can check out the official press release about Pursuit below.
IMPACT Wrestling & Pursuit Channel Announce Agreement to Televise IMPACT! Nationally Across the U.S.
TORONTO | LUVERNE – IMPACT Wrestling, a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp., announced today it has entered into an agreement to broadcast its flagship weekly two-hour program IMPACT! nationally across the U.S. on Pursuit Channel, the most widely distributed outdoor network and one of the fastest growing channels in the country.
Beginning on Friday, Jan. 11, featuring the aftermath of Homecoming, IMPACT Wrestling’s first marquee pay-per-view event of the year, IMPACT! will air weekly on Pursuit Channel on Friday nights at 10:00 p.m. ET.
“Pursuit Channel is a natural fit for IMPACT!” said Ed Nordholm, president of IMPACT Wrestling. “It has a passionate viewership base that correlates strongly with our core audience, and is one of the few broadcast destinations that is expanding its footprint, enjoying a 15% increase in broadcast distribution this year alone. With IMPACT Wrestling coming off a tremendous year of audience growth globally and positive fan engagement, we look forward to leveraging our respective resources to bring fans more of the wrestling content they want to see: tougher, edgier action.”
“Pursuit Channel is pleased to welcome IMPACT Wrestling into our Friday night lineup of popular shows,” said Rusty Faulk, CEO and founder of Pursuit Channel. “IMPACT Wrestling programming is perfect for our audience, which enjoys adventurous content to feed their wild side. We look forward to a long partnership and providing our fans with new and exciting world-class content while expanding IMPACT Wrestling’s audience to a new base.”
Showcasing top professional wrestling stars such as IMPACT World Champion Johnny Impact, who starred in the most recent season of the hit CBS show Survivor, plus Brian Cage, Eli Drake, Moose, Eddie Edwards, Sami Callihan, Pentagon Jr., Fenix, Rich Swann, the high-flying X-Division and the Knockouts, including Champion Tessa Blanchard, Taya Valkyrie, Rosemary, Allie and Su Yung, IMPACT! has been a leading destination for professional wrestling fans, televised globally in 120 countries since its inception in 2002, while growing its popularity and reach on YouTube, Twitch, Pluto and social media platforms.
Opinionated View- Guys this really worries me. This feels like they are back on Destination America a much smaller channel, they won't be in prime time and its another night change.
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