A New Number Three? NWA Outdraws TNA

John Powell

A New Number Three? NWA Outdraws TNA

A new ratings war may be emerging in the pro-wrestling industry as NWA has technically beat TNA in the television ratings this week.

NWA announced that Powerrr’s May 2nd debut on Comet TV brought in 275,000 overnight viewers. Although not officially announced, with that many viewers Powerrr’s key demos are estimated to be in the 0.02 – 0.04 range.

Comet TV is a free, over-the-air digital network that reaches over 100 million households, about 90% of the United States. Its programming of sci-fi, fantasy and horror does create an environment in which many of those current viewers could also be wrestling fans.

Last week, TNA brought in 209,000 overnight viewers to AMC with 0.03 in the key demos.

AMC is a major basic cable and satellite network that reaches approximately 60 million U.S. households and maintains over 10 million direct streaming subscribers through its AMC+ platform. TNA’s numbers have been steady and in the 240k to 260k range since debuting on AMC in January,

NWA’s success though this week proves that there are wrestling fans out there who might not wish to pay for a streaming subscription or even cable to watch. It is also clear that the NWA brand still means a lot to many wrestling fans even without any support from the big two.

It might also suggest the fact that they brought in such an audience in a 4 PM ET, Saturday timeslot could mean the NWA has found a broadcasting throwback “sweet spot” reminiscent of eighties viewing that others didn’t and haven’t capitalized on.

Overall, Nielsen shifted to a “Big Data + Panel” way of determining ratings and this has caused a lot of flux in the weekly viewing numbers for all of the promotions.

In the USA only 22% have cable as their main TV source. Only 36% still subscribe to cable or satellite services. Over 80% use streaming services and approximately 50% to 60% have now cut the cable cord and now rely only on streaming, and that number is growing each passing year.

This week’s achievement for the NWA could be a shift in the overall industry if the promotion can continue to pull in those kinds of numbers months from now and this premiere bump wasn’t just curious fans checking in. How many remain locked in next week could tell a bigger story for the NWA and perhaps TNA as well. This is a ratings war worth keeping an eye on.

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