TNA's 10 Most Costly Mistakes
3. Going Live
Well, as we’ve already discussed, the Hulk Hogan era of TNA was not a very profitable one. But beyond all the ridiculous talent deals handed out at that time, it was simply leaving the Impact Zone that cost them the most.
Dixie Carter, Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan felt the way to take the company to that next level (the one they failed to achieve numerous times) was to air Impact in arenas across the country in front of a brand new audience every other time out (they taped two weeks at a time). You can understand that logic, but only if they had a product that was hot enough to justify airing their show in all those different locations. At the time, the product was a gigantic mess.
The company was often able to bring in a couple of thousand fans to these shows, but it was nowhere near enough to turn these ventures into a profit. All in told, it was rumored they spent $500,000 every time out. It was a completely unsustainable business model. While the shows looked more impressive on TV, they were hemorrhaging money and failing to bring in new fans to offset the massive costs.
Within a couple of months they had to retreat back to the Impact Zone, returning as a more broken company than ever before.