Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Sept 27, 2016 23:56:06 GMT -6
www.sescoops.com/what-is-tnas-value-to-wwe-in-a-potential-sale/
Since Monday night, we’ve gotten two separate reports suggesting that WWE is back in play as a suitor for TNA. Dixie Carter has been attempting to sell the company in time to be able to fund Sunday’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view and the subsequent TV tapings, to the point that a deal needs to be made by Friday, the last business day before the PPV. That said, if WWE were to buy the company, one would think that they’d have little reason to continue operations, and based on past precedent, it may be best for them to just let TNA fall flat on its face.
To WWE, it’s hard to see the value to TNA as much more than a video library. Ever since the purchase of WCW’s assets in 2001, WWE has acquired the vast majority of historical master video and film footage left of American and Canadian wrestling, to the point that just a small handful remain outside of their control. Generally speaking, WWE purports to pay $500/hour for each library, though there have always been stories of WWE paying more for some collections. For TNA, that would mean that, if for argument’s sake, if we say that they’ve averaged three hours of programming a week (weekly PPV or Impact and Xplosion) for their existence, then you’re at over $1.09 million for 14 years of footage just using WWE’ video library formula.
Granted, it’s possible that the argument could be made for TNA’s library to be worth more than others WWE has acquired. Barring maybe a small number of late era developmental promotion shows, none of WWE’s acquisitions have had high any definition content. TNA, on the other hand, has been producing their shows in HD for many years, and those HD shows include a lot of talent now in WWE like A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe, and Bobby Roode. Maybe that’s worth more to WWE than $500 an hour.
Still, past reports suggest that TNA needs somewhere in the mid to high six figure range to hold a block of Impact tapings at Universal Studios. It would make no fiscal sense for WWE to put money into running next week’s tapings. If Billy Corgan, Aroluxe, or anyone else like that doesn’t buy the company, then it’s highly unlikely that there will continue to be a company. It would require a much higher valuation on the library for it to make any sense for WWE to fund next week’s shows.
It may actually be to WWE’s benefit to let TNA go bankrupt and try to pick up the pieces at auction. This is what they did with ECW, which, like TNA has now, had all sorts of financing agreements going on at the end to keep it afloat. Most notably, Annodeus, an affiliate of Acclaim, ECW’s video game licensee, loaned the company $1 million with the idea of keeping the promotion alive to boost the video game license. And while WWE met some opposition from Annodeus, who wanted ECW’s intellectual property so they could keep making ECW video games, there would be nobody similarly situated with TNA.
To prevent anything like the above scenarios, TNA, as a wrestling promotion, has a little over 72 hours to be rescued. It wouldn’t be the first time that Dixie Carter has pulled a rabbit out of her hat, but it would be the most miraculous.
Since Monday night, we’ve gotten two separate reports suggesting that WWE is back in play as a suitor for TNA. Dixie Carter has been attempting to sell the company in time to be able to fund Sunday’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view and the subsequent TV tapings, to the point that a deal needs to be made by Friday, the last business day before the PPV. That said, if WWE were to buy the company, one would think that they’d have little reason to continue operations, and based on past precedent, it may be best for them to just let TNA fall flat on its face.
To WWE, it’s hard to see the value to TNA as much more than a video library. Ever since the purchase of WCW’s assets in 2001, WWE has acquired the vast majority of historical master video and film footage left of American and Canadian wrestling, to the point that just a small handful remain outside of their control. Generally speaking, WWE purports to pay $500/hour for each library, though there have always been stories of WWE paying more for some collections. For TNA, that would mean that, if for argument’s sake, if we say that they’ve averaged three hours of programming a week (weekly PPV or Impact and Xplosion) for their existence, then you’re at over $1.09 million for 14 years of footage just using WWE’ video library formula.
Granted, it’s possible that the argument could be made for TNA’s library to be worth more than others WWE has acquired. Barring maybe a small number of late era developmental promotion shows, none of WWE’s acquisitions have had high any definition content. TNA, on the other hand, has been producing their shows in HD for many years, and those HD shows include a lot of talent now in WWE like A.J. Styles, Samoa Joe, and Bobby Roode. Maybe that’s worth more to WWE than $500 an hour.
Still, past reports suggest that TNA needs somewhere in the mid to high six figure range to hold a block of Impact tapings at Universal Studios. It would make no fiscal sense for WWE to put money into running next week’s tapings. If Billy Corgan, Aroluxe, or anyone else like that doesn’t buy the company, then it’s highly unlikely that there will continue to be a company. It would require a much higher valuation on the library for it to make any sense for WWE to fund next week’s shows.
It may actually be to WWE’s benefit to let TNA go bankrupt and try to pick up the pieces at auction. This is what they did with ECW, which, like TNA has now, had all sorts of financing agreements going on at the end to keep it afloat. Most notably, Annodeus, an affiliate of Acclaim, ECW’s video game licensee, loaned the company $1 million with the idea of keeping the promotion alive to boost the video game license. And while WWE met some opposition from Annodeus, who wanted ECW’s intellectual property so they could keep making ECW video games, there would be nobody similarly situated with TNA.
To prevent anything like the above scenarios, TNA, as a wrestling promotion, has a little over 72 hours to be rescued. It wouldn’t be the first time that Dixie Carter has pulled a rabbit out of her hat, but it would be the most miraculous.