DirecTV Inc. body-slammed TNA Entertainment LLC’s Total Nonstop Action Wrestling’s weekly pay-per-view shows over a contract dispute with event rights-holder In Demand.
DirecTV did not carry TNA’s July 7 PPV event after it failed to come to terms with In Demand for a renewal of its carriage agreement, which expired June 30, sources close to the companies said.
Sources said the dispute revolves around revenue splits and other “business issues” regarding the events, which retail for a suggested price of $9.95. It’s unclear what revenue percentage DirecTV received from the PPV shows.
In Demand and TVN Entertainment Corp. will continue to air TNA’s weekly PPV-wrestling events.
A DirecTV spokesman said the company is “talking with [TNA] and hopes to resume the broadcast of TNA wrestling when we reach an agreement.”
In Demand would not comment on the matter.
TNA officials also would not comment on the matter, but TNA posted a note to fans on its Web site (www.tnawrestling.com) saying its events would not air on DirecTV for an “undetermined amount of time” due to “circumstances beyond our control.” The site also provided TNA fans with an electronic-mail address to submit “comments” to DirecTV about the matter.
The two-year old TNA recently inked a deal with Fox Sports Net to air a weekly Friday-afternoon show on its owned-and-operated regional sports networks.
That deal marked the first non-World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. basic-cable series since 2001, when Turner Network Television carried World Championship Wrestling’s WCW Monday Nitro.
