TNA iMPACT! Ratings News: Kip James Loses Viewers, Knockouts
Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter
– Here are some ratings notes from the 5/8 Impact. The opening match featuring a slew of X Division wrestlers (Jimmy Rave vs. Consequences Creed vs. Johnny Devine vs. Shark Boy vs. Petey Williams vs. Curry Man) lost 26,000 viewers. A bunch of backstage segments as well as a video package on LAX lost 144,000 viewers. The entrances for the Knockouts Pole match drew 39,000 additional viewers. The conclusion of the match and Sting vs. James Storm gained 231,000 viewers to do a 1.06 peak rating. However, Impact lost all of the viewers they had gained in the previous two matches within a matter of moments. The Kip James vs. Matt Morgan match lasted a total of three minutes and managed to lose 262,000 viewers in the process. The main event featuring Kurt Angle & Scott Steiner vs. Samoa Joe & Kevin Nash gained 13,000 viewers and did a 0.87 rating. The show drew a 0.91 overall rating.
– The Kaz, Lethal & Dutt vs. Rock 'n' Rave Infection & Johnny Devine match and "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal's marriage proposal to SoCal Val following it lost 265,000 viewers for the 5/15 Impact. Kurt Angle's speech asking Karen to come back and a LAX vs. Motor City Machine Guns match lost 88,000 viewers, and that was at the 10:00 hour. The main event featuring Team 3D & Booker T vs. Samoa Joe, Christian Cage and Rhino lost 63,000 viewers, drawing a 0.87 rating. As if that isn't enough, the quarter hour featuring the vignette of Eric Young looking for Elvis and Sting talking about his past with Ultimate Warrior drew Impact's lowest rated quarter hour of the year with a 0.78 rating. The only segments to not lose any viewers were matches featuring the women. The Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong match following the marriage proposal segment stopped the bleeding and gained 25,000 viewers. However, the biggest gain of the show was reserved for surprise, surprise, Velvet Love & Angelina Love. "The Beautiful People" vs. ODB & Roxxi Laveaux match managed to pull in 176,000 viewers. This was the lowest rated show of the year with a 0.87 overall rating.
– In case you're wondering what TNA's strongest viewer demographic is, its 50-year old men (and up) as apparently they enjoy the slew of women and references to several year old wrestling angles the most. For instance, the 5/15 show drew a 0.87 overall rating with 1.1 million viewers, but the 50 and up Male demo drew a 1.02 rating. In comparison, the show did a 0.62 in Males 18-34 and 0.56 in Males 35-49. TNA's weakest demographic appears to be Women 18-49, and by a wide margin. Impact drew a 0.21 rating with them for the 5/15 show and a 0.18 for the 5/8 show. The 5/8 show also drew a 0.97 in Males 50 (and up), 0.69 in Males 35-49, and 0.55 in Males 18-34. The show did a 0.91 rating with 1.2 million viewers.