Major Breaking News On Spike TV/TNA Negotiations

The following is from MultiChannel.com:

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. fare will depart this fall, but Spike TV evidently won t go without grappling.

Sources close to the network said the men s-targeted service is finalizing a deal with Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling (TNA) for a weekly late-night run.

Just two weeks ago, it appeared as if TNA was moving toward a pact with Superstation WGN, but sources said those negotiations broke down late last week.

Spike officials would say only that the network is in continuing discussions with the upstart pro-wrestling outfit. But sources said Spike is targeting a one-hour, late-Saturday-night time slot for TNA, which has been without a network outlet since its one-year agreement with FSN expired last month.

Under that deal, TNA leased time on FSN for its weekly Friday-afternoon series.

It s unclear if TNA would pay Spike for carriage. Representatives from the organization could not be reached for comment by press time.

In April, Spike opted against renewing WWE s highly rated Monday Night Raw franchise — which will return to USA Network this fall — in favor of upping its investment in original programming.

Spike has also made a major commitment to combat-sports outfit Ultimate Fighting Championship, renewing freshman reality series Ultimate Fighter and agreeing to run six live UFC events over the next two years. It will also telecast 26 one-hour episodes of a still-untitled series featuring classic footage of UFC events.