“SpikeTV will no longer carry TNA and have agreed to part ways with the company.”
That headline rocked TNA and Panda Energy to its core. TNA had been relying on the monthly checks SpikeTV had been cutting them. As a matter of fact, they were surviving purely on those checks. Without them, there wouldn’t be enough money to pay talent or produce TV tapings. TNA had no one to blame but themselves. After reaching its pinnacle from 2007 through the end of 2009, no one in management would have expected this. Bringing in Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff at the start of 2010 was supposed to get them over the final hurdle and compete with WWE. Instead, it was a disastrous run that left the company in its worst financial and creative position since it opened its doors in 2002.
Searching franticly for a suitable network replacement, TNA had no luck. They only had a few shows left in the can to run on SpikeTV before they were completely lifeless without a television contract. They could revert back to showing Impact for free on their website, but they were bleeding so much money at an alarming rate that without a television deal they would have no choice but to shut its doors. Finally an offer came through, albeit not a very good one. Discovery had offered TNA a deal. In typical TNA fashion, they quickly agreed to terms without actually knowing what the terms were. TNA realized they just put the company in the hands of Discovery, but desperate times call for desperate measures and they carried on thinking it was business as usual and that everything would sort itself out.
In the beginning, Discovery gave TNA what they described as a “trial run” on Destination America-one of the networks under the Discovery television umbrella. They began to run Impact in June of 2015 and were going to re-visit the contract situation at the end of the quarter in September. It was more of a handshake agreement than anything else, something Panda Energy- TNA’s parent company- wasn’t very pleased with, but knew they had no choice after SpikeTV dropped them from programming.
Knowing TNA were desperate to complete a deal as soon as possible, Discovery virtually backed them into a wall with a heavily lopsided deal in their favor. TNA could either go dark for the foreseeable future or accept the only deal they were offered. TNA reluctantly accepted the deal. If the ratings did well and TNA drew a decent crowd, Discovery would offer them a new written deal in September. If TNA bombed, Discovery would wash their hands of them and move on.
After three months of running TNA Impact on Destination America, Discovery was very happy with the ratings TNA had been doing. Although problems internally were destroying the company, on paper TNA was a financial success by their standards. The higher-ups at Discovery enjoyed having TNA Impact on their programming and were looking forward to continuing the relationship.
Before negotiations could even begin on a written contract, Discovery began to ask the questions that TNA had been avoiding since they signed in June.
“What happened to all of the talent TNA had been marketing in the promotional packages they sent to Discovery?”
“Where were the top names at?”
“Why were fans calling in asking where these top names were at?”
“What can be done about this? Do they need Discovery’s help to get those guys to compete on their television show on their network?”
TNA stalled to give an answer and stumbled to find an answer. They were still bleeding money, and still didn’t have enough money to re-sign their top talent. They began to sell their used ring equipment just to pay staff. Things had never been worse. For some strange reason, Discovery took a real interest in TNA. People at the top positions in the company didn’t know much about the sport, but had enough knowledge to know that the professional wrestling industry had a strong market. They began to think the people in charge of running TNA had no idea what they were doing.
After a few days of meetings to go over the new contract, Discovery proposed it to TNA. There it was in plain English at the top of the drafted contract- Discovery wanted to own TNA. Yes, own it. Not keep it aboard on Destination America and collect all of the revenue while cutting a small check to TNA each week. Discovery was a multi-billion dollar giant in the television industry. Purchasing TNA was a drop in the bucket for them.
TNA and Panda Energy were shocked when they read over the contract. Of course numerous businesses had attempted to buy TNA in the past, but this time the offer seemed more realistic than ever. If they said no, they would be in the same place they were 3 months ago. If they said yes, they were signing over the livelihoods of all talent, staff, and production members to Discovery- a company that virtually knew nothing about the industry.
At first TNA and Panda Energy flat out told Discovery they wouldn’t sell the company over to them. At the current time Panda Energy owned 85% of the stock. Discovery wanted all of Panda Energy’s shares in TNA stock and was willing to give great compensation packages to the staff they released. Panda Energy could either sell their stock and at least make a hefty sum in the process, or say no and tread water until the water and lights turned off inside the building.
Days went by as TNA was radio silent. They were struggling internally to come to a decision that would help make everyone happy. Dixie Carter refused to part ways. TNA was her baby, and although she made some pretty terrible decisions regarding the company’s future in the past, she was still the person in charge. Others in Panda Energy saw the offer for what it was- an escape with a big pay day. From a pure business standpoint, this was a no-brainer. They attempted to persuade Dixie and again, Dixie refused to even acknowledge the offer.
Discovery grew frustrated with the silent treatment and sent another document over to TNA- this one said if they didn’t respond within 24 hours Discovery was going to part ways with TNA. Everything was on the table and everyone was on board except Dixie Carter. “TNA is my baby. This is ridiculous!” Dixie shouted inside a closed door meeting with her family inside Panda Energy Headquarters. They were burning the midnight oil and only had a few hours to respond to Discovery. After hours of struggling to get Dixie to sign off, she finally, reluctantly was on board with the sale.
Discovery was very pleased when Panda Energy contacted them the next morning. They quickly paid Panda Energy for 85% of their stock in TNA. They were now entering uncharted waters that no one in the company had ever stepped foot in. Sure, it would be a struggle at first but eventually they believed they could make a big profit and compete with the WWE. The only problem they were now facing was that no one in the company had any clue how to do it.
“How in the hell do we run a professional wrestling company?” one chairman barked. The other members of the Discovery Board of Directors chimed in and agreed with this man.
“We don’t………We let the guy who has the other 15% of the stock run it………”
PART II COMING SOON
