Attendance - So far Chicago, Jonesboro, Corpus Christi, Indiana, Tupelo & Tampa have hosted Impact Live, and the one thing they have in common is they have all had reasonably good looking crowds. One of things many were nervous about going into the new era was the crowds TNA would be able to draw, however TNA have attempted to make these shows feel as big as possible by hosting press conferences for the events and also getting local authority figures involved to further add to the big event feel. With the attendances for these events, especially Chicago & Jonesboro, TNA must be happy with the crowds they have been able to draw, and with locations such as Las Vegas, Louisville & Cleveland pencilled in on the schedule, and as long as they continue to use the same promotional methods, they should have more well attended tapings to come.
Production – The stage for the shows is very up market, with the big DixieTron from Slammiversary 2012, the lighting wall directly behind the entrance, the 2 small screens at each side of the lighting wall and the Walkway from Bound For Glory 2012, its a very slick looking stage. At first the only thing that bothered me with the stage was the Walkway, but after seeing it regularly over the past several months, I’ve gotten used to it and like how it has been incorporated into some of the matches (the most obvious one would be Hernandez's running clothesline over the top rope).
The crowds have made the show look much better, one thing that can really help or really hinder a show is the crowd, and for many years in the Impact Zone, TNA never had that crowd to help the overall quality of a show, now they are in-front of a new crowd every other week that want to see the stars of Impact Wrestling, and the majority of the shows since the change in March have helped. From the look to the sounds of the crowds, it has made TNA look and feel more like the #2 promotion in the world, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
Live but not Live – After being on the road for a few weeks, TNA have adopted a method when they are taping in certain time zones to promote the show as Live, but actually air it on tape delay. If TNA were to go live with the show at 9pm when taping in the eastern time zone, or 8pm when taping in the central time zone, with the 2 hour live show on Spike plus the minimum of 45 minutes to tape next weeks show the event for those in attendance wouldn't finish until 11:45/10:45 respectively. Now with that taken into account if TNA went live every week in those time zones one of two things would happen 1. people would stay for the live show and leave before the beginning of the taped one, which could make the taped show look terrible, or B. People would not bother attending the show due to it being such a long night finishing at a late time on a week day.
By beginning to tape the live show a few hours before it actually goes on air, it makes the entire event start and finish at a reasonable time as well as shorter due to eliminating the commercial breaks they would have to sit through if airing live, which makes it a more enjoyable experience for the fans in attendance and will probably result in better crowd reactions and the increased chance of getting those fans to do repeat business by coming back to a show in the future.
The Taped Shows – Unfortunately it seems like TNA are putting most of their eggs into the Live basket and using the taped shows to promote the following weeks Live Impact. We have seen from the majority of the taped Impact's that they don't have much storyline progression and a lot of promotion for the following week's episode, which renders the taped Impact's miss-able. While I understand them saving most things for the Live shows, it doesn't make it right to overall spin the wheels during the taped episodes, you cant expect people to tune in if they know simply by the pattern the show has followed that the taped episodes are uneventful, and when established to the audience that tunes in every week that shows will follow the pattern of one week's a hit & then the next week's a miss, fans will either tune in only for the Live shows and miss the taped one's or they may possibly become frustrated with the pattern & just stop watching all together.
What's Next?
So far TNA have done a pretty good job of taking Impact on the road, they have attempted to make the event feel big in the local area's they have taped in, they have invested in the look of the show with both the stage & lighting but also going out to find big, fresh & excited crowds to be the backdrop of their shows & they have found a way to keep everybody happy by catering to the live crowd with the start & finish times of the show, however as stated above there are still improvements to be made specifically with the taped shows however as a growing company TNA should always be looking to expand the positive aspects of this new venture, so with foundation being made for regularly touring what’s next for Impact on the road?
Increased attendances – While the attendances so far have been good for TNA, later this year they need to look to grow those crowds even more by doing 2 things, the first being increased advertising. As I have mentioned they have done a good job of making the shows feel special by having press conferences that also involve local authority figures, however over time they need to increase the amount of advertising they do to draw more people to the shows, this goes hand in hand with the second method, which is building a local fan base.
I don't doubt that TNA will return to the majority if not all the locations they have visited with Impact Live so far, and when they do the 2 methods suggested should be put into place. With the first shows they have done, its safe to say many of those who attended would go again if TNA returned to their town, so with that knowledge that they probably have attracted most of the wrestling fans in that area, they now need to focus more on the casual or former fans to come out to the show and give them a chance, this would need an increase in advertising, but with the previous attendance as a rough estimate of the next attendance, TNA can create a budget within that potential profit to use for advertising and hopefully increase the attendance for the next show by a healthy amount.
Live Every Week – In order to fix the pattern of hit then miss with their live one week, taped the next schedule, the best solution really is to go live every week. While I’m aware that it isn’t a simple and easy thing to do, it is something for the future to continue the company's growth. By going live every week, it will give them that urgency to give something exciting to the new live audience they are in-front of every week, which should result in a better show and good quality shows every week. While its something that may be a long way down the line, it is the next logical step for TNA and something I’m sure they would love to be able to do.
Going Global – This is something that is set in stone, because in January 2014 TNA will go Live(tape delay in the U.S.) from Glasgow, Scotland, which will be the first time they have attempted to do so, but with TNA's great international growth, more locations around the globe could become the next host to Impact Live, with the UK being a guarantee, followed by Australia and even as close to home as Canada, however as long as TNA continue to improve their relationships with international broadcasters, the potential of more Global Impact's becomes even more probable.
All in all, its so far so good for Impact on the road, and as long as they keep the solid foundations they are creating, and continue to push to grow certain aspects of the show, the future will continue to look bright for TNA's touring circus.
I'd just like to add how happy I am to celebrate TNAsylum's 3 year anniversary, I’ve been a contributor to this site for almost 2 years both as a guest & regular columnist and a reader since almost the very beginning, and the growth I’ve witnessed this site go under is incredible, we have such a talented and commented team and I am proud to say I am a part of it, I’d like to thank the team for their passion and drive to make one another the best they can be, also a big thank you to the reader's, your enjoyment & feedback is what makes the work we put into our column's well worth it, so on behalf of my colleagues I’d like to thank you all for your support of TNAsylum, and in closing, bring on the 4th year anniversary.
