Dixie Conference Call Highlights: Impact plans post-summer, ratings, change to number of PPVs in 2013? etc

http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TNA_News_1/article_61930.shtml

The following are top highlights from TNA president Dixie Carter's Wednesday conference call to discuss the first live Impact Wrestling in the new timeslot Thursday.

Impact & PPV Discussion

-- The live Impact summer series will be 12 or 13 weeks lasting through mid-August. Carter has not had a conversation with Spike TV president Kevin Kay about going live beyond the summer series. "We want each Thursday to be the very best show and I'm just happy to have this summer to go live," Carter said, saying they'll cross the bridge on whether Impact will remain live when they get there. "Would I like to go live from here on out? Absolutely," she said.

Asked about taking Impact on the road as well as live, Carter said, "We won't make that business decision until we're ready." She said the first step is going live this summer, then seeing if it's feasible to go on the road, but still being content with Orlando.

-- Carter revealed Spike TV asked TNA around Thanksgiving to take Impact to three hours, but Carter says they did not believe it was a good move, wanting to stress "quality over quantity." Carter said they need more programming, but not to expand Impact.

-- Carter said she is not a fan of doing 12 PPVs per year - sticking to the "quality over quantity" theme - and they hope to renegotiate PPV contracts to "hopefully see that change in 2013."

Carter said she does not have an ideal number of PPVs per year in mind. "Six? Eight? I'd be happy with 10," she said. Carter said the PPVs make money for TNA, so they would have to fill the revenue elsewhere. She said if they can improve the quality and grow the buys to make up for dropping a few PPVs, then it will be feasible.

-- Carter said the TV product won't look drastically different on Week 1 of going live Thursday night, but it will "evolve over time" to where they want it with the elements of "peeling back the curtain."

-- Carter said she's not expecting initial growth in the Impact ratings going live because of the timeslot change that is accompanying the live run. She said the quicker the message gets out about the timeslot change, the better the ratings will perform. She added that they also need to build momentum with the live show.

Asked if TNA or Spike has set a specific ratings or viewership mark, Carter said, "Honestly, that conversation has not been had," noting the change to going live happened very quickly and they are in a bit of a whirlwind at the moment.

-- Carter acknowledged mistakes made with the product through the years, specifically trying to pack too much content into one show. She also acknowledged poor follow-up, specifically the Samoa Joe kidnapping angle and Jackie Gayda tape scandal storyline from the mid-2000s, which was a signature moment of TNA's poor Creative at the time. "Follow-up is a thing we have not been great at it," Carter said. She said they are trying to make that the exception, rather than the rule at the current time.

-- One of the key reasons TNA is going live, according to the message presented by Carter during the two-hour conference call, is they don't want viewership to be affected by spoilers. Although spoilers reach a small portion of their overall viewing audience, which was not acknowledged, Carter stressed going live as a deterrent from spoilers having a negative effect on viewers's opinions of Impact and potentially causing them not to watch the show.

Talent Discussion

-- Asked if certain wrestlers being off TV for a time is on-purpose, Carter said it's "absolutely a conscious decision." She said it's always good for there to be a time to step back and take a break and have someone come back fresh. She acknowledged TNA has been guilty of trying to pack too many people into the show where "nothing gets over."

She said the goal now is to make sure everyone has a reason to be on Impact or be in a match on PPV. "Again, we've been guilty of not doing this in our past," she said, adding, "We're trying to rectify it right now."

-- Regarding recent TNA departures, Carter said she "cannot comment any further" on the situation with Ric Flair, she said she would like to see Alex Shelley back in TNA, and she called Don West leaving a "heartbreaker." Carter said they have prepared someone to take West's spot in the merchandising department.

-- Regarding Vince Russo's recent departure, Dixie said, "Vince is a brilliant writer. Sometimes it's just time for change for somebody's life and the company." Carter said she was happy with Russo's contributions to TNA over the years, but they had to ask themselves where they can improve upon things. Asked if things have been different since Russo left, Carter said, "It's not Vince-related. It's a different mentality."

-- Carter said there wasn't one particular person who pushed for a change to the TV format (incorporating segments that "peel back the curtain"). She said their main goal is to attract non-traditional viewers who otherwise wouldn't watch wrestling. Carter said Impact should not just be "you have to love wrestling to watch the show."

Yet, the objective of a wrestling show is to inspire viewers to spend money on the product beyond the two hours they sit down and watch the show, which makes it different than "Pawn Stars" or "Toddlers in Tiaras," which Carter cited as examples of people rarely going to a pawn shop, but willing to watch Pawn Stars.

-- Carter acknowledged a "tough go of it lately" with the X Division. She said injuries and releases have hurt the division. She's hoping Gut Check will lead to new X Division wrestlers joining TNA, and stressed TNA is looking for X Division wrestlers.

Also concerning Gut Check, Carter said they hope to feature potential Knockouts in upcoming Impact episodes.

-- On Brooke Hogan joining TNA, Carter said she believes it's unfair that "no one is giving her a chance" before she joins the company and she wants to see how it will play out before she's criticized. Carter said she will introduce Brooke on Thursday's Impact episode. Asked why not use the money in some other area rather than hiring Brooke, Carter said, "TNA Knockouts are very important to me. The biggest thing she will do for us is shine a spotlight on Knockouts."

-- Asked to compare TNA to WWE, Carter boasted that "we think we are the better company." Asked how Vince McMahon would fit in TNA if they were to ever buy out WWE similar to WWE buying out WCW, Carter said she doesn't think Vince would fit in well with the company.

Asked a hypothetical question about who should like to bring in affiliated with WWE, Carter said The Rock because of the added mainstream exposure he would bring to TNA as they try to grow the brand.

International Discussion

-- Carter said she hopes to have an announcement soon a potential U.K.-branded promotion similar to Ring Ka King in India.

-- TNA does not want to take the product to the U.K. market too often, and wants to keep it to the one January tour each year. Carter said she would also rather tape television in the U.K. rather than air a PPV from the U.K. because more people will see the Impact TV show.

-- TNA is having discussions of taking the Ring Ka King off-shoot to different parts of the world.

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