Cable network AMC has long been the home of ambitious scripted dramas from “Mad Men” to the many iterations of “The Walking Dead” franchise.
But parent company AMC Networks announced Tuesday it will carry a weekly TNA Wrestling program starting in January. “Thursday Night iMPACT!” will air live from from 9 to 11 p.m. Eastern starting Jan. 15.
The telecast was previously carried on cable network AXS. The Nashville-based TNA, founded in 2002, is among the largest competitors to TKO Group Holdings’s WWE, the market leader in the professional wrestling business.
The multi-year media rights deal with a sports entertainment entity is the first of its kind for the New York based AMC, once at the vanguard of cable’s original scripted programming boom in the early 2000s.
Streaming video on demand has dramatically changed the landscape for AMC Networks, as the habit of making an appointment to watch a scripted drama series has eroded.
Viewers can now watch those shows at their convenience, driving down ratings for traditional TV viewing. In its third quarter earnings report, AMC Networks saw a 17% year-to-year decline in ad revenue as audience levels continue to drop.
Even with predetermined outcomes, wrestling exhibitions provide an urgency for audiences to tune in and watch live. The TNA program will also be available on AMC+, the direct-to-consumer streaming platform.
Many cable networks have given up on developing original scripted programming. AMC is a holdout, moving deeper into genre series, including spin-offs of its major hit “The Walking Dead” and shows based on Anne Rice’s vampire novels. Such shows tend to have loyal, dedicated fans.
Dan McDermott, chief content officer for AMC Networks, believes the storytelling and characters presented on TNA have a similar appeal to AMC’s drama audience.
“The TNA audience significantly overlaps with viewers of our Sunday night originals, so we see a real opportunity here to create urgency and bring passionate fans something they love with Thursday Night iMPACT! as a weekly event on AMC,” he said in a statement.
AMC made a push into live programming after the success of “Talking Dead,” the show that dissected the latest episode of “The Walking Dead.” The network rolled out after-show chat fests for other series, also aimed at getting viewers to watch live.
While its unlikely AMC will become a major player in live sports events, the network is looking to sports documentaries to draw in fans.
In February, AMC will present “Rise of the 49ers,” a four-part series on the successful San Francisco 49ers teams of the late 1980s and early 90s. The company’s AMC Studios produced the series with Skydance Sports, NFL Films and Tom Brady’s Religion of Sports.
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