Dixie Carter & TNA CFO Share Details Of Move To PopTV Under Oath In Lawsuit

Something that had been a topic of discussion ever since TNA announce Impact’s move to PopTV was exactly what the terms of the deal were. Quickly, Pop denied that TNA was paying them to air the show, which would have been the worst case scenario. A few months later, there were reports that it was a barter deal where Pop got the show in exchange for a share of advertising revenue (in lieu of guaranteed rights fees), and that became the prevailing narrative. MLW had refuted that claim on Twitter, though.

Last week, in sworn affidavits that were largely overlooked (in light of the more explosive items from Billy Corgan’s lawsuit against TNA), both Dixie Carter and Chief Financial Officer Dean Broadhead admitted that the deal with PopTV is, in fact, a barter arrangement. The affidavits were filed as exhibits supporting TNA’s motion to oppose Corgan’s request for an injunction, with the motion including the same admission. From the motion (citations to the affidavit removed for clarity; you can read them at the link):

Impact has had cash flow challenges. It began experiencing cash flow deficits as a result of moving Impact’s television show lirom Destination America to Pop TV (both cable networks). The cash flow deficits were expected and required to transition the brand from a license model to a barter sales contract tied to advertising sales. The change was necessary in order to secure the company’s valuable digital rights, full sponsorship/advertising rights and non-exclusivity rights, all of which are critical to the long-term growth and success of the brand. When making such a transition, it is typical for advertising sales to take time to increase to a level at which the barter sales contract generates revenue similar to a license structure.

It’s not clear what the part about the change being “necessary” to “secure the company’s valuable digital rights” actually means. Reportedly, Destination America opted out about four months into the deal effective later in the year, with the internal reasoning being that too many network sponsors put Impact on their “Do Not Advertise” list.

While Carter and Broadhead don’t specifically say that the move from Destination America to PopTV was voluntary, it’s not a huge stretch to read the statements that way. Both affidavits do say that “Impact made the strategic decision to move from a license fee to a barter system in the United States.” If not referring to the network switch, it’s possible that it could be explained by PopTV having offered a very low license fee or maybe TNA turning down options where the license fee was $0.