Backstage Updates On TNA And ROH's Futures On Destination America, Possible Good Sign?
- There may be hope for pro wrestling on Destination America after all. DA General Manager Mark Etkind recently left to take a similar role with The Science Channel and Jane Latman is now working as the DA General Manager.
Latman is currently evaluating all Destination America programming. Etkind had made the call to eliminate wrestling from the network but because both TNA and Ring of Honor do above the station average, Latman may have a different opinion and could keep wrestling on the network.
With that said, the problem with TNA hasn't been ratings but the costs involved. The latest word was that TNA would be off Destination America some time in early 2016 after the original plans to pull them in September became something of a legal issue, according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
ROH is under contract with the network until early December but as of this week, they have not been renewed. ROH is under the impression that Latman has not made a decision on their future as of this week.
It's worth noting that an advertiser tried to buy time on Destination America for early 2016 on the wrestling hows and was told that they would not be airing any wrestling programming at that time. This happened about a month ago, before Latman came on. This indicates that the network advertising department was still under the impression that neither show would be kept on the air. The advertisement department also received the original memo from months ago where it said TNA would be gone at the end of September, before the deal was extended for a few months.
The Observer also noted that wrestling is said to be such a low priority at Destination America that it's never brought up or talked about among higher-ups.
Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter
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