Opinions

TNA’s new Canadian television deal and what it could mean for United States fans

Psykohurricane

Yesterday, it was officially announced that TNA will begin airing IMPACT Wrestling on Sportsnet 360 starting in January. For those who don’t know, Sportsnet 360 has been the home of WWE programming in Canada for the last decade and is currently one of the biggest sports channels in the country.

This announcement took a lot of fans by surprise, as many assumed AEW would take that spot once WWE moved to Netflix. This assumption was largely based on the belief that Anthem was content to run the operation in-house and wasn’t concerned about losing their TV deal.

This move is a significant power play by TNA to attract more Canadian fans by gaining increased exposure with this deal—much more than they had on The Fight Network. Additionally, they’ve made a smart decision to air a special TNA event after NXT on the 31st to give fans a taste of what TNA is all about. While I don’t expect many people to watch wrestling live on New Year’s Eve (I know I won’t), the proximity to NXT means fans can record the show and watch it later, which is a clever strategy.

So, what does this mean for viewers in the United States? Anthem’s decision to move TNA to a bigger network in Canada suggests they’re working to get TNA on larger networks in the U.S. as well. This indicates they feel confident enough to compete with AEW and aim for the #2 spot in the wrestling landscape.

For TNA fans, this is excellent news, especially given recent reports of wrestlers leaving due to pay cuts. Anthem appears to be investing in growth by securing a better TV deal in Canada and pursuing one in the U.S. as well. This move could improve the company’s financial situation, allowing them to offer more competitive salaries to wrestlers. TNA already has a great product that’s been hard for fans to access, but with this deal, more people will finally have the chance to watch and appreciate it. Hopefully, within the next year, they can transition off AXS and secure a better channel in the U.S.

This will be a very interesting story to follow in 2025. Let’s see where these moves take TNA as they appear to have Tony Khan and AEW in their sights. They seem determined to at least compete with AEW in 2025.