[TNA] Howard Stern News Bad for TNA?

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In today’s Television Week cable trade magazine, there is a front-page story that is reporting Howard Stern has tabled talks to bring the TV version of his radio show to Spike TV from the E! Network.

The radio host — soon to make the move from traditional radio to satellite — is in talks with the country’s largest cable operator Comcast, as well as other cable system operators, to bring his show to subscription video on demand (SVOD).

In the story, industry experts are suggesting that this could be a “watershed” moment in the history of VOD, mostly used today for movies and back episodes of popular TV shows. Additionally, more and more programmers and new cable networks that do not have their own standalone channel are bringing their content to VOD (such as WWE 24/7).

Some are estimating that Stern’s move to SVOD — usually a service that requires viewers to have digital cable access and to pay a monthly fee on top of their normal bill — could attract around 1 million new VOD subscribers.

The full story can be found on TVWeek.com.

One of the positives of TNA iMPACT!’s move to Spike TV that has been discussed lately in the IWC is the benefits of being on the air between the popular Ultimate Fighting and Howard Stern programming. No word on how this will impact iMPACT! should Stern go to SVOD rather than re-open talks with Spike.

Matthew Michaels is editor emeritus of Pulse Wrestling, and has been since the site launched.