8-1-13 Impact Ratings: Did "August 1 Warning" Online Campaign Help Grow The Audience?

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TNA Impact on Thursday, August 1 scored a 1.03 rating, down slightly from a 1.05 rating last week.

TNA attempted an "August 1 Warning" social media blitz from Friday of last week up until Impact on Thursday, but Impact declined five percent in viewership.

Impact averaged 1.246 million viewers, compared to an average of 1.314 million viewers last week.

Impact has steadily declined since drawing a 1.18 rating and 1.494 million viewers for the "Destination X" Impact two weeks ago. But, Impact has remained above a 1.0 rating for three consecutive weeks for the first time since the end of March to the beginning of April.

- On cable TV Thursday night, Impact ranked #40 in overall viewers, #21 in males 18-34, and #20 in males 18-49.

Impact's m18-34 rating jumped nearly two-tenths of a rating (but was still below the Destination X rating), while the older demographic of males 18-49 showed slight improvement from last week.

The other demos increased slightly, which means the overall rating likely declined because of a drop in the audience outside of the 18-49 range.

- One year ago this week, Impact scored a 1.01 rating and the demo ratings were virtually the same as this week's episode. The only significant difference is Impact scored a better rating among younger viewers last year compared to this week.

Caldwell's Analysis: TNA skews to an older audience, which means less socially active and more casual (as in turn on the TV at 9:00 p.m. EST and see what's on the wrestling show). So, the "August 1 Warning" was an interesting social media experiment, which yielded information that it apparently did not reach casual viewers, but it helped boost one of Spike's key demos of males 18-34.

TNA Impact on Thursday, August 1 officially scored a 1.03 rating off a first hour 1.03 rating and second hour 1.02 rating.

The TV main event and "August 1 Warning" segment at the end of the show scored a 1.04 rating in Q8, which was below the opening segment's 1.06 rating.

The show's high-point was a 1.08 rating in Q3. The first and third quarter-hours were the only segments of the show that rounded up to a 1.1.

First Hour Break Down

Q1: Impact opened with a 1.06 rating, benefiting from the "Cops" lead-in. The segment featured Austin Aries and Bobby Roode exchanging words and one commercial.

Q2: Impact dropped to a 0.97 rating for Roode vs. Hernandez and one commercial.

Q3: Impact jumped to a show-high 1.08 rating for an "August 1 Warning" teaser with a limo pulling up in the parking garage, one commercial, and Joseph Park vs. Jay Bradley.

Q4: Impact declined to a 1.02 rating for the first-half of Chris Sabin vs. Mannik in a Champion vs. Champion match, plus two full commercial breaks dragging down the segment.

Second Hour Break Down

Q5: Impact did not get a top-of-the-second-hour bump, as the show was essentially even with a 1.03 rating. This included the second-half of Sabin vs. Mannik, one commercial, and ring introductions for a Knockouts match.

Q6: Impact was essentially even with a 1.04 rating for ODB vs. Gail Kim and one commercial.

Q7: Impact dropped to a show-low 0.96 rating for Brooke and Bully backstage, the first-half of A.J. Styles vs. Austin Aries in the main event, and one mid-match commercial.

Q8: Impact increased to a 1.04 rating for the end of Aries-Styles, which went until 10:53 p.m., one commercial that went until 10:57 p.m., and the conclusion of the show with Tito Ortiz walking out as the "August 1 Warning" with Aces & Eights and Main Event Mafia at ringside.

Caldwell's Analysis: There are two take-aways from the quarter-hours. One is Sabin vs. Mannik was set up to fall flat in Q4 & Q5, especially considering TNA has given several cues to the audience that Sabin is not to be taken seriously as top champion. The other take-away is the Aug. 1 Warning social media experiment was essentially a wash mixing TNA's hardcore fanbase with their casual, older-skewing viewing audience. We don't have minute-by-minutes yet to see if the very end of the show propped up Q8 or if the end of Aries-Styles - which consumed the majority of Q8 - should be credited for bringing Impact back to the show-average at the end of the episode.

http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/TNA_News_1/article_72496.shtml#.UgGac21YRi0

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