iMPACT Wrestling: Building a Thursday Night Audience (January 2011 – December 2011)
After a somewhat disastrous attempt at competing against Monday Night RAW on Monday nights and a definitive victory “competing” against Superstars on Thursday nights (see bottom of this page), iMPACT Wrestling now finds itself competing against regular cable television. Even though there isn’t a professional wrestling-based ratings war to speak of any more, there is definitely a story unfolding as iMPACT Wrestling tries to build and ultimately expand an audience on Thursday nights. Below you’ll find a chart showing the rating for each week’s episode on Spike TV as well as a viewership estimate. Many times, the viewership estimate is a much more reliable account of how the show performed in terms of bringing in an audience.
However, each episode’s total viewership is a very hard figure to estimate in this day and age. This is because DVR+3 figures (the amount of people who watch the show on their DVR within three days of recording it) usually add about 200,000 more viewers in addition to the viewership number reported below. Plus, Spike.com uploads each full episode of iMPACT Wrestling to its website for free online streaming for a three month period. The online streaming versions of the show typically generate about 20,000 views before they are taken down (some episodes have many more viewers, others have less). However, there is no way to know whether or not DVR or online viewers are part of the original viewership estimate, so these figures are rarely reported by wrestling websites (you will not find them below, but this is good information to keep in mind as you review the statistics in this chart).
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| January 6, 2011 | 1.16 (1.23 / 1.10) | 1,474,000 |
| January 13, 2011 | 1.25 (1.31 / 1.19) | 1,733,000 |
| January 20, 2011 | 1.15 (1.18 / 1.13) | 1,648,000 |
| January 27, 2011 | 1.28 (1.34 / 1.23) | 1,934,000 |
| February 3, 2011 | 1.31 (1.32 / 1.31) | 1,953,000 |
| Show Notes: | The February 3rd episode of iMPACT! was heavily promoted weeks prior to its airing on Spike TV. As of its air date, this was the second highest rated Thursday night episode of iMPACT! in Spike TV history with an average audience of 1,953,000 viewers. | |
| February 10, 2011 | 1.20 (1.22 / 1.18) | 1,653,000 |
| February 17, 2011 | 1.13 (1.15 / 1.11) | 1,544,000 |
| February 24, 2011 | 1.26 (1.22 / 1.30) | 1,545,000 |
| March 3, 2011 | 1.37 (1.32 / 1.41) | 1,847,000 |
| Show Notes: | The March 3rd episode of iMPACT! was taped in Fayetteville, North Carolina. This marks only the second time that iMPACT! was taped outside of the iMPACT! Zone at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. This is also the first iMPACT! show on the road since the show’s first high definition episode on October 23, 2008, which aired live from Las Vegas. The show was the highest rated episode of iMPACT! shown on a Thursday night and the second highest rated episode of the show ever behind the January 4, 2010 show. | |
| March 10, 2011 | 1.25 (1.26 / 1.24) | 1,738,000 |
| Show Notes: | The March 10th episode of iMPACT! was taped in Fayetteville, North Carolina. This marks only the second time that iMPACT! was taped outside of the iMPACT! Zone at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. This is also the first iMPACT! show on the road since the show’s first high definition episode on October 23, 2008, which aired live from Las Vegas. | |
| March 17, 2011 | 1.28 (1.24 / 1.31) | 1,781,000 |
| March 24, 2011 | 1.23 (1.19 / 1.26) | 1,688,000 |
| March 31, 2011 | 1.18 (1.15 / 1.22) | 1,670,000 |
| April 7, 2011 | 1.15 (1.14 / 1.16) | 1,528,000 |
| Show Notes: | On March 17, 2011, WGN America announced that the April 7, 2011 episode of Superstars would be the last one airing on the network. This confirmed that the cable channel had canceled Superstars and gave iMPACT! the definitive victory on Thursday nights. | |
| April 14, 2011 | 1.14 (1.14 / 1.14) | 1,540,000 |
| April 21, 2011 | 1.17 (1.19 / 1.16) | 1,730,000 |
| April 28, 2011 | 1.10 (1.13 / 1.06) | 1,510,000 |
| May 5, 2011 | 1.15 (1.06 / 1.23) | 1,567,000 |
| May 12, 2011 | 1.26 (1.21 / 1.32) | 1,809,000 |
| Show Notes: | On May 12, 2011, TNA Wrestling officially changed the name of its Thursday night show from TNA iMPACT! to iMPACT Wrestling. Beginning with the next set of tapings an entirely new set was used for the show. | |
| May 19, 2011 | 1.17 (1.14 / 1.20) | 1,714,000 |
| Show Notes: | The May 19, 2011 episode of iMPACT Wrestling was the first episode to feature a new, blue-themed set for the show. | |
| May 26, 2011 | 1.20 (1.12 / 1.28) | 1,702,000 |
| June 2, 2011 | 1.09 (1.04 / 1.15) | 1,452,000 |
| June 9, 2011 | 1.01 (1.00 / 1.01) | 1,483,000 |
| June 16, 2011 | 1.25 (1.21 / 1.30) | 1,766,000 |
| June 23, 2011 | 1.17 (1.18 / 1.17) | 1,693,000 |
| June 30, 2011 | 1.27 (1.25 / 1.30) | 1,838,000 |
| Show Notes: | The June 30, 2011 episode of iMPACT Wrestling had limited commercial interruptions thanks to a sponsorship from 5 Hour Energy – a liquid energy shot. | |
| July 7, 2011 | 1.11 (1.05 / 1.18) | 1,609,000 |
| July 14, 2011 | 1.19 (1.09 / 1.29) | 1,578,000 |
| Show Notes: | The July 14, 2011 episode of iMPACT Wrestling was promoted as a special event called “A Midsummer’s Nightmare” and featured Sting regaining the TNA World Heavyweight Championship from Mr. Anderson. | |
| July 21, 2011 | 1.26 (1.16 / 1.35) | 1,794,000 |
| July 28, 2011 | 1.20 (1.14 / 1.26) | 1,614,000 |
| August 4, 2011 | 1.14 (1.16 / 1.13) | 1,436,000 |
| August 11, 2011 | 1.07 (1.08 / 1.06) | 1,536,000 |
| August 18, 2011 | 1.05 (1.07 / 1.04) | 1,455,000 |
| August 25, 2011 | 1.22 (1.22 / 1.22) | 1,622,000 |
| September 1, 2011 | 1.06 (1.03 / 1.09) | 1,419,000 |
| Show Notes: | The September 1st episode of iMPACT Wrestling was taped in Huntsville, Alabama. This was the third time that iMPACT Wrestling was taped outside of the iMPACT Wrestling Zone at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. | |
| September 8, 2011 | 1.02 (0.99 / 1.05) | 1,358,000 |
| Show Notes: | The September 8th episode of iMPACT Wrestling was taped in Huntsville, Alabama. This was the third time that iMPACT Wrestling was taped outside of the iMPACT Wrestling Zone at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. | |
| September 15, 2011 | 1.20 (1.20 / 1.20) | 1,638,000 |
| September 22, 2011 | 1.08 (1.09 / 1.07) | 1,524,000 |
| September 29, 2011 | 1.14 (1.18 / 1.10) | 1,490,000 |
| October 6, 2011 | 1.01 (0.95 / 1.05) | 1,376,000 |
| Show Notes: | The October 6th episode of iMPACT Wrestling was taped in Knoxville, Tennessee. This is the fourth time that iMPACT Wrestling was taped outside of the iMPACT Wrestling Zone at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. | |
| October 13, 2011 | 1.05 (1.05 / 1.04) | 1,438,000 |
| Show Notes: | The October 13th episode of iMPACT Wrestling was taped in Knoxville, Tennessee. This is the fourth time that iMPACT Wrestling was taped outside of the iMPACT Wrestling Zone at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. | |
| October 20, 2011 | 1.35 (1.38 / 1.33) | 2,019,000 |
| Show Notes: | The October 20th episode of iMPACT Wrestling was the most viewed episode in the history of the show. | |
| October 27, 2011 | 1.14 (1.21 / 1.07) | 1,522,000 |
| November 3, 2011 | 1.29 (1.35 / 1.22) | 1,702,000 |
| Show Notes: | The November 3rd episode of iMPACT Wrestling was taped in Macon, Georgia. This is the fifth time that iMPACT Wrestling was taped outside of the iMPACT Wrestling Zone at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. | |
| November 10, 2011 | 1.23 (1.25 / 1.21) | 1,730,000 |
| Show Notes: | The November 10th episode of iMPACT Wrestling was taped in Macon, Georgia. This is the fifth time that iMPACT Wrestling was taped outside of the iMPACT Wrestling Zone at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. | |
| November 17, 2011 | 1.16 (1.13 / 1.18) | 1,619,000 |
| November 24, 2011 | 0.99 (0.91 / 1.07) | 1,405,000 |
| December 1, 2011 | 1.16 (1.18 / 1.14) | 1,443,000 |
| December 8, 2011 | 1.07 (1.09 / 1.06) | 1,444,000 |
| December 15, 2011 | 1.14 (1.17 / 1.11) | 1,671,000 |
| December 22, 2011 | 1.03 (0.99 / 1.07) | 1,358,000 |
| December 29, 2011 | 1.16 (1.16 / 1.17) | 1,510,000 |
| Average Rating | 1.17 (1.16 / 1.18) | 1,612,500 |
The Thursday Night Ratings War (May 2010 – April 2011)
For a short while, iwheadlines.com was happy to bring its readers a bit of a tongue-in-cheek version of the Thursday Night Ratings War between TNA iMPACT! on Spike TV and WWE Superstars on WGN America. Why did we call this a “tongue-in-cheek” war? Well, for starters the two shows didn’t compete in a head-to-head time slot as iMPACT! aired from 9:00pm EST until 11:00pm EST and Superstars aired from 8:00pm EST until 9:00pm EST. Also, Superstars generally brought in a significantly lower rating than iMPACT! so there really was no “war” to speak of (actually, this was somewhat reminiscent of the 2010 “Monday Night Ratings War” between WWE and TNA). Oh, and Superstars was a syndicated show that also had a replay while iMPACT! was a regularly scheduled show on a standard cable channel making it consistently more available in potential viewer homes.
In any event, WGN America ultimately canceled Superstars and thus ended our slight comedy piece here on the website. However, as we’re sure you notice from the data above, we are continuing to follow iMPACT Wrestling’s ratings and viewership estimates.
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| January 6, 2011 | 1.16 (1.23 / 1.10) | 0.58 |
| January 13, 2011 | 1.25 (1.31 / 1.19) | 0.58 |
| January 20, 2011 | 1.15 (1.18 / 1.13) | 0.49 |
| January 27, 2011 | 1.28 (1.34 / 1.23) | 0.64 |
| February 3, 2011 | 1.31 (1.32 / 1.31) | 0.73 |
| Show Notes: | The February 3rd episode of iMPACT! was heavily promoted weeks prior to its airing on Spike TV. As of its air date, this was the second highest rated Thursday night episode of iMPACT! in Spike TV history with an average audience of 1,953,000 viewers. | |
| February 10, 2011 | 1.20 (1.22 / 1.18) | 0.70 |
| February 17, 2011 | 1.13 (1.15 / 1.11) | 0.60 |
| February 24, 2011 | 1.26 (1.22 / 1.30) | 0.57 |
| March 3, 2011 | 1.37 (1.32 / 1.41) | 0.57 |
| Show Notes: | The March 3rd episode of iMPACT! was taped in Fayetteville, North Carolina. This marks only the second time that iMPACT! was taped outside of the iMPACT! Zone at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. This is also the first iMPACT! show on the road since the show’s first high definition episode on October 23, 2008, which aired live from Las Vegas. The show was the highest rated episode of iMPACT! shown on a Thursday night and the second highest rated episode of the show ever behind the January 4, 2010 show. | |
| March 10, 2011 | 1.25 (1.26 / 1.24) | 0.50 |
| Show Notes: | The March 10th episode of iMPACT! was taped in Fayetteville, North Carolina. This marks only the second time that iMPACT! was taped outside of the iMPACT! Zone at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. This is also the first iMPACT! show on the road since the show’s first high definition episode on October 23, 2008, which aired live from Las Vegas. | |
| March 17, 2011 | 1.28 (1.24 / 1.31) | 0.52 |
| March 24, 2011 | 1.23 (1.19 / 1.26) | 0.57 |
| March 31, 2011 | 1.18 (1.15 / 1.22) | 0.69 |
| April 7, 2011 | 1.15 (1.14 / 1.16) | 0.59 |
| Show Notes: | On March 17, 2011, WGN America announced that the April 7, 2011 episode of Superstars would be the last one airing on the network. This confirmed that the cable channel had canceled Superstars and gave iMPACT! the definitive victory on Thursday nights. | |
| Average Rating | 1.23 (1.23 / 1.23) | 0.60 |
| iMPACT! competed against Superstars for 14 weeks in 2011. After averaging out the ratings performance for both shows during those two weeks, iMPACT! on Spike TV effectively doubled Superstars’ ratings performance on WGN America. | ||
| Bold = Ratings Winner for the Week | ||