Fight Network is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel owned by Anthem Sports & Entertainment . The network broadcasts programming related to combat sports , including mixed martial arts , boxing , kickboxing , and professional wrestling .
109-629: The channel was originally conceived in Canada, when it was granted approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on January 30, 2004. The channel, tentatively known as "TFN – The Fight Network", was described as "a national, English-language Category 2 specialty television service devoted to programming related to the arts, skills and science of combatants." Created and founded by Mike R. Garrow, The Fight Network launched on September 22, 2005. It
218-553: A "significant investment" in Fight Network, marking his return to the media industry after the bankruptcy and wind-down of Canwest. Asper stated that it was "an exciting opportunity — not without its challenges, but also of course one with significant potential." In April 2011, to coincide with UFC 129 in Toronto, the network re-branded as simply Fight Network , with a new logo and an associated marketing campaign to promote
327-542: A 60% cut in pay and TNA founder Jeff Jarrett would resign from the company, but remained as minority shareholder until his temporary return on June 24, 2015, with the deal for his return including the transfer of his minority stake to Dixie Carter, making her sole shareholder. The following year Jarrett revealed plans to start a new professional wrestling promotion, Global Force Wrestling . Further departures in 2014 included TNA veterans Sting , Chris Sabin , Hernandez , Christopher Daniels and Kazarian all leaving
436-507: A Canadian network licenses a television show from a US network and shows it in the same time slot, upon request by the Canadian broadcaster, Canadian broadcast distributors must replace the show on the US channel with the broadcast of the Canadian channel, along with any overlays and commercials. As Grey's Anatomy is on ABC , but is carried in Canada on CTV at the same time, for instance,
545-588: A broadcasting agreement with the World Series of Fighting , covering Canada and other EMEA markets. In March 2015, Fight Network acquired Canadian rights to TNA Wrestling programming, including Impact! , Xplosion , and TNA's Wrestling Greatest Matches . In March 2016, TNA expanded its relationship with Fight Network to offer its programming internationally through Fight Network's streaming platforms. In January 2017, Fight Network's parent company (now known as Anthem Sports & Entertainment ) acquired
654-460: A continental system, and trying to impose 35% Canadian content across North America is quite unrealistic. They also argue that satellite radio will boost Canadian culture by giving vital exposure to independent artists, instead of concentrating just on the country's stars, and point to the CRTC's successful extraction of promises to program 10% Canadian content on satellite services already operational in
763-512: A creative writer and would assist in the writing and production of the shows. Russo states that he coined the name "Total Nonstop Action", the initials of the company "TNA" being a play on " T&A ". The original intention, as they were exclusive to pay-per-view, was to be viewed as an edgier product than WWE. Initially, TNA's weekly pay-per-view show operated as the company's main source of revenue, in place of monthly pay-per-view events used by other promotions. These shows took place mostly at
872-709: A deal with Pop TV to air Impact Wrestling , where it premiered on Tuesday, January 5, 2016, in a live special held at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania . With this move to Pop, Impact Wrestling introduced a new HD set, graphics and theme music. This show saw the semi-finals and finals of the TNA World Title Series , which was won by Ethan Carter III . Husband and wife team Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis would debut soon after. Subsequent shows would include episodes taped during
981-633: A deal with New Motion, Inc. which led to the introduction of TNA Mobile service. TNA has also launched "TNA U TV"; podcasts aired through YouTube to help promote the company. In August 2007, live-events coordinator Craig Jenkins stated that TNA intended to stage eight pay-per-views and 96 house shows outside Orlando, Florida, in 2008. From 2007 to 2008, TNA first toured Europe, hosting two shows at Porto and Lisbon in Portugal , with TNA later conducting its first tour of England , with most shows selling out which later broke TNA's attendance records with
1090-401: A lien on TNA for unpaid taxes. Anthem Sports & Entertainment , parent company of Impact Wrestling ' s Canadian broadcaster, Fight Network , offered to help TNA and repay Corgan for the loans, while also offering additional financial assistance to TNA to help keep them from filing for bankruptcy. On October 31, Corgan lost his injunction that kept TNA from selling the company, but TNA
1199-747: A live house show at MCU Park , which also broke the TNA domestic attendance record at the time and being the most attended live TNA house show in the United States, with a capacity crowd of 5,550. During the May 3, 2011, Impact! television tapings, the show would change its name to Impact Wrestling . On November 7, 2011, TNA revealed that Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) would become TNA's official developmental territory . In December 2011, TNA debuted their new India-based subsidiary promotion Ring Ka King . On May 31, 2012, Impact Wrestling began airing live at
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#17327919982981308-570: A loan to Carter. Then on August 12, Billy Corgan became the promotion's new president, while Carter transitioned from president to the company's new chairwoman and chief strategy officer. It was reported on September 16 by the New York Post that Canada's Fight Network, through its parent company, Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corporation, had taken a stake in TNA. On October 13, Corgan sued TNA due to unpaid debt which Corgan claimed TNA had defaulted on. The State of Tennessee also put
1417-560: A majority stake in TNA. Under Anthem, the promotion was renamed "Impact Wrestling" after its flagship program. Following the acquisition, Fight Network began cutting its studio programming; in March 2017, long-time Fight Network personalities Robin Black and John Ramdeen were laid off by Anthem. Further layoffs occurred in October 2017, including the entire staff of Live Audio Wrestling (which
1526-485: A majority stake of TNA, re-organizing TNA's parent company with Aroluxe having 10 percent while Carter retaining a five percent minority stake in the company, but resigned as chairwoman after 14 years with the company, while joining the advisory board of Fight Media Group. The promotion's parent company, TNA Entertainment, was changed firstly to Impact Ventures and then to Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions, LLC., with Anthem's Executive Vice President Ed Nordholm becoming President of
1635-751: A master toy license agreement with Toy Biz , with various action figures and playsets releasing between 2005 and 2007. TNA would subsequently discontinue producing weekly pay-per-views in favor of a traditional monthly pay-per-view schedule, beginning with Victory Road in November 2004. TNA's television contract with Fox Sports expired in May 2005. Without television exposure, Impact! would continue to air through webcasts – originally made available via BitTorrent and eventually via RealPlayer – and replace Xplosion' s timeslot on Urban America Television . On September 11, 2005, TNA held its Unbreakable pay-per-view. Unbreakable
1744-413: A monitoring service would cost, the end-result was that no cable company elected to carry the station, either, leaving many Arabic-speaking Canadians using free-to-air satellite dishes to watch the station. The Canadian Jewish Congress has expressed its opinion over possible anti-Semitic incitement on this station and that the restrictions on Al Jazeera are appropriate, while the Canadian B'nai Brith
1853-582: A monthly allotment of 60 GB, beyond which Bell will charge $ 1.12 per GB to a maximum of $ 22.50. If a customer uses more than 300 GB a month, Bell will also be able to implement an additional charge of 75 cents per gigabyte. In May 2010, the CRTC ruled that Bell could not implement its usage-based billing system until all of its own retail customers had been moved off older, unlimited downloading plans. The requirement would have meant that Bell would have to move its oldest and most loyal customers. The CRTC also added that Bell would be required to offer to wholesale ISPs
1962-557: A more complicated problem for the CRTC. While an unlicensed satellite dish can often be identified easily, satellite radio receivers are much more compact and can rarely be easily identified, at least not without flagrantly violating provisions against unreasonable search and seizure in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms . Some observers argued that this influenced the CRTC's June 2005 decision to ease Canadian content restrictions on satellite radio (see above). The CRTC
2071-459: A new "open entry" approach to foreign controlled "third language" (non-English, non-French) channels. Al Jazeera : Was approved by the CRTC in 2004 as an optional cable and satellite offering, but on the condition that any carrier distributing it must edit out any instances of illegal hate speech. Cable companies declared that these restrictions would make it too expensive to carry Al Jazeera. Although no cable company released data as to what such
2180-496: A new start time of 8 p.m. EST on Thursday nights. The live schedule would continue throughout 2012. In 2012, Panda Energy divested itself of its stake in TNA. Dixie Carter , the daughter of Panda Energy founder Robert Carter, who had been serving as TNA's president, acquired that stake, making her TNA's majority shareholder. In March 2013, TNA began taping Impact from different venues around the United States and terminated its lease with Universal Studios . On March 14, TNA introduced
2289-459: A new universal HD stage which would be used for all weekly programming. On November 2, TNA ended its relationship with OVW. TNA formed a relationship with Japanese promotion Wrestle-1 beginning in July 2013 with a meeting between TNA founder Jeff Jarrett and Wrestle-1 head Keiji Mutoh . It was arranged for Jarrett to wrestle for W-1 in October 2013. In November, A.J. Styles successfully defended
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#17327919982982398-543: A partnership where the streaming service will distribute select non-live shows in most countries except the United States, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa . On May 8, 2023, Impact announced their first ever Australian shows named Down Under Tour , a four-day tour with two marquee wrestling shows that took part on June 30 and July 1 in Wagga Wagga , New South Wales . At the conclusion of Bound for Glory on October 21, 2023, Impact announced that it would revive
2507-410: A policy of non-interference. In May 2011, in response to the increase presence of Over-the-Top (OTT) programming, the CRTC put a call out to the public to provide input on the impact OTT programming is having on Canadian content and existing broadcasting subscriptions through satellite and cable. On October 5, 2011, the CRTC released their findings that included consultations with stakeholders from
2616-547: A report on August 7, TNA filed a new business name of Impact Ventures, LLC. Destination America gained over 41.94 million viewers over the course of 2015's first quarter, making this the channel's best first quarter ever, followed by their best May ever in prime time. In both cases, Discovery Communications touted Impact Wrestling as one of the reasons for the increase in viewers. Despite this success, Discovery Communications dropped Unlocked and Greatest Matches from their programming in May 2015. On November 19, TNA signed
2725-551: A series presenting the best matches in the company's history. From December 2014 to March 2015, several employees re-signed with TNA, including Kurt Angle , Jeff Hardy, Gail Kim , Mr. Anderson, Abyss and Matt Hardy . Awesome Kong also re-joined the company following several years of absence. During this period, veteran Samoa Joe and commentator Tazz left the company by mutual consent. On April 27, 2015, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan joined TNA as senior producer of creative and talent development. According to
2834-598: A statement calling on the CRTC to review its approval of two new radio stations, Frank Torres' CIDG-FM and Astral Media 's CJOT-FM , which it had licensed in August 2008 to serve the Ottawa - Gatineau radio market. Moore asked the commission to assess whether the francophone population of the Ottawa-Gatineau area was sufficiently well-served by existing French radio services, and to consider licensing one or more of
2943-515: A tour of England, which would be the last TNA appearances for Kurt Angle . TNA returned to taping Impact Wrestling at the Impact Zone at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, beginning with a live Impact Wrestling on March 15. On March 19, longtime TNA wrestlers Eric Young and Bobby Roode left the promotion after 12 years. On April 22, Velvet Sky , another longtime TNA wrestler, left
3052-639: Is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasting and telecommunications. It was created in 1976 when it took over responsibility for regulating telecommunication carriers. Prior to 1976, it was known as the Canadian Radio and Television Commission , which was established in 1968 by the Parliament of Canada to replace the Board of Broadcast Governors . Its headquarters
3161-584: Is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee . It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment . Founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, following the end of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 2001, the promotion was initially known as NWA: Total Nonstop Action ( NWA-TNA ) and was affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) governing body. The promotion dropped
3270-714: Is located in the Central Building (Édifice central) of Les Terrasses de la Chaudière in Gatineau , Quebec . The CRTC was originally known as the Canadian Radio-Television Commission. In 1976, jurisdiction over telecommunications services, most of which were then delivered by monopoly common carriers (for example, telephone companies), was transferred to it from the Canadian Transport Commission although
3379-490: Is not unlawful as provided by The Radiocommuncation Act Section 4(1)(b), which states: "No person shall, except under and in accordance with a radio authorization, install, operate or possess radio apparatus, other than (b)a radio apparatus that is capable only of the reception of broadcasting and that is not a distribution undertaking. (radio apparatus" means a device or combination of devices intended for, or capable of being used for, radiocommunication)." Satellite radio poses
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3488-502: Is often the lightning rod for policy criticism that could arguably be better directed at the government itself. Complaints against broadcasters, such as concerns around offensive programming, are dealt with by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC), an independent broadcast industry association, rather than by the CRTC, although CBSC decisions can be appealed to the CRTC if necessary. However,
3597-500: Is opposed to any approval of Al Jazeera in Canada. The CRTC ruling applied to Al Jazeera and not to its English-speaking sister network Al Jazeera English , which was launched two years after the ruling. Fox News Channel : Until 2004, the CRTC's apparent reluctance to grant a digital licence to Fox News Channel under the same policy which made it difficult for RAI to enter the country – same-genre competition from foreign services – had angered many conservative Canadians, who believed
3706-526: Is remembered for the three-way match main event for the TNA X Division Championship , between AJ Styles , Christopher Daniels , and Samoa Joe , which received a rare 5 Star match rating from wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer , the first one the company received. Later that year, TNA would secure a television deal with Spike TV ; Impact! debuted on the network on October 1, 2005. The episode saw Team 3D make their TNA debut. TNA would gain attention for
3815-525: Is responsible for allocating frequencies and call signs, managing the broadcast spectrum, and regulating other technical issues such as interference with electronics equipment. The CRTC has in the past regulated the prices cable television broadcast distributors are allowed to charge. In most major markets, however, prices are no longer regulated due to increased competition for broadcast distribution from satellite television . The CRTC also regulates which channels broadcast distributors must or may offer. Per
3924-583: Is run by up to 13 full-time members (including the chairman, the vice-chairman of broadcasting, and the vice-chairman of telecommunications) appointed by the Cabinet for renewable terms of up to five years. However, unlike the more directly political appointees of the American Federal Communications Commission , the CRTC is an arms-length regulatory body with more autonomous authority over telecommunications. For example,
4033-554: Is to create a market in which Canadian networks can realize revenue through advertising sales in spite of their inability to match the rates that the much larger American networks can afford to pay for syndicated programming. This policy is also why Canadian viewers do not see American advertisements during the Super Bowl , even when tuning into one of the many American networks carried on Canadian televisions. The CRTC also regulates radio in Canada, including community radio , where
4142-624: The TNA Impact ! video game . On October 23, 2008, TNA began producing its programming in HD . In addition, a new HD set for Impact was introduced, including new lighting, and large high-resolution screens. On June 21, 2009, TNA launched an online video-vault subscription-service where subscribers could watch past pay-per-views by choosing one of three payment options. In October 2009, TNA President Dixie Carter hired Hulk Hogan and former WCW President Eric Bischoff . Hulk Hogan first appeared on
4251-580: The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services (CCTS) opened its doors. Third Party ISP Access refers to a ruling forcing Cable operators (MSO) to offer Internet access to third party resellers. The commission currently has some jurisdiction over the provision of local landline telephone service in Canada. This is largely limited to the major incumbent carriers, such as Bell Canada and Telus , for traditional landline service (but not Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)). It has begun
4360-582: The TNA World Heavyweight Championship at a Wrestle-1 show in Japan. From the period of 2013 to 2014, many well-known names or veterans of the company left TNA. In October 2013, Hulk Hogan 's contract with TNA expired, ending his time as creative consultant with the company. In December, AJ Styles left TNA after his contract expired. Styles later said that he could not accept TNA's new contract offer, which would see him take
4469-654: The Tennessee State Fairground Sports Arena in Nashville , nicknamed the "TNA Asylum". In October 2002, Panda Energy International purchased a controlling interest (72%) of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling from Jerry Jarrett. TNA (which originally traded as "J Sports and Entertainment") was re-organized as "TNA Entertainment", LLC, in the process. Dixie Carter was appointed president of TNA Entertainment in spring 2003. Xplosion launched on November 27, 2002, as TNA's first regular cable show and featured exclusive matches taped at
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4578-688: The United States but not in Canada. Users of these unlicensed services contend that they are not directly breaking any laws by simply using the equipment. The equipment is usually purchased from an American supplier (although some merchants have attempted to set up shop in Canada) and the services are billed to an American postal address. The advent of online billing and the easy availability of credit card services has made it relatively easy for almost anyone to maintain an account in good standing, regardless of where they actually live. Sec. 9(1)(c) of
4687-406: The federal cabinet known as orders-in-council , represent the bulk of the CRTC's jurisdiction. In many cases, such as the cabinet-directed prohibition on foreign ownership for broadcasters and the legislated principle of the predominance of Canadian content, these acts and orders often leave the CRTC less room to change policy than critics sometimes suggest, and the result is that the commission
4796-415: The "Impact Zone", at Universal Studios Florida and broadcast on Fox Sports Net (FSN). With the show's première, TNA introduced a six-sided wrestling ring, the implementation of the "Fox Box" displaying competitors and timekeeping for the match and a generally more sports-like style than the sports entertainment style exemplified by WWE. In June 2004, TNA issued a press release stating it had signed
4905-559: The "NWA" brand from its name in 2004, becoming Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . TNA continued to use the NWA World Heavyweight and Tag Team championships until this agreement ended in 2007; after which, the company would create its own World Heavyweight and World Tag Team championships. The promotion was purchased by Anthem at the beginning of 2017. In March of that year, it was rebranded to Impact Wrestling after its weekly flagship television show , but returned to
5014-406: The $ 2.7 million debt that was owed to him by TNA and, as such, he was considering suing, as well as converting the debt into a 36 percent stake. As the result of a settlement between Corgan and TNA, Anthem Sports & Entertainment acquired the loans Corgan made to Carter in the process. Anthem Sports & Entertainment , a company owned by former Canwest CEO Leonard Asper , purchased
5123-523: The 1990s, the CRTC rejected applications by Milestone Radio to launch a radio station in Toronto which would have been Canada's first urban music station; in both cases, the CRTC instead granted licences to stations that duplicated formats already offered by other stations in the Toronto market. The decision has been widely cited as one of the single most significant reasons why Canadian hip hop had difficulty establishing its commercial viability throughout
5232-469: The 1990s. The CRTC finally granted a licence to Milestone in 2000, after a cabinet order-in-council directed the commission to license two new radio stations that reflected the cultural diversity of the Toronto market, and CFXJ-FM launched in 2001. CHOI-FM : The CRTC announced it would not renew the licence of the popular radio station CHOI-FM in Quebec City , after having previously sanctioned
5341-460: The 35% rule on local radio stations, was necessary because unlicensed U.S. receivers were already flooding into the country, so that enforcing a ban on these receivers would be nearly impossible (see below). This explanation did not satisfy cultural nationalists, who demanded that the federal cabinet overturn the decision and mandate a minimum of 35% Canadian content. Supporters of the decision argue that satellite radio can only be feasibly set up as
5450-578: The Broadcasting Act the commission also gives priority to Canadian signals—many non-Canadian channels which compete with Canadian channels are thus not approved for distribution in Canada. The CRTC argues that allowing free trade in television stations would overwhelm the smaller Canadian market, preventing it from upholding its responsibility to foster a national conversation. Some people, however, consider this tantamount to censorship . The CRTC's simultaneous substitution rules require that when
5559-750: The CRTC is also sometimes erroneously criticized for CBSC decisions — for example, the CRTC was erroneously criticized for the CBSC's decisions pertaining to the airing of Howard Stern 's terrestrial radio show in Canada in the late 1990s, as well as the CBSC's controversial ruling on the Dire Straits song " Money for Nothing ". The commission is not fully equivalent to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission , which has additional powers over technical matters, in broadcasting and other aspects of communications, in that country. In Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (formerly Industry Canada)
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#17327919982985668-603: The CRTC outraged some Canadian cultural nationalists (such as the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting ) and labour unions by licensing two companies, Canadian Satellite Radio and Sirius Canada to offer satellite radio services in Canada. The two companies are in partnership with American firms XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio respectively, and in accordance with the CRTC decision will only need to offer ten percent Canadian content. The CRTC contends that this low level of Canadian content, particularly when compared to
5777-496: The CRTC requires that at least 15% of each station's output must be locally produced spoken word content. In a major May 1999 decision on "New Media", the CRTC held that under the Broadcasting Act the CRTC had jurisdiction over certain content communicated over the Internet including audio and video, but excluding content that is primarily alphanumeric such as emails and most webpages. It also issued an exemption order committing to
5886-498: The CRTC's decisions rely more on a judiciary process relying on evidence submitted during public consultations, rather than along party lines as the American FCC is prone to do. The CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee (CISC) assists in developing information, procedures and guidelines for the CRTC's regulatory activities. Impact Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA )
5995-762: The Cage. Fight Network's live boxing programming includes: Other boxing programming broadcast on FN: FN's "From The Vault" archive includes fights from Showtime Championship Boxing , ShoBox: The New Generation , Solo Boxeo Tecate, Warriors Boxing, United Promotions, KZ Event Productions, Ballroom Boxing, 12 Round Promotions and Legends of the Ring. FN's "From The Vault" archive includes matches from Impact Wrestling , Dragon Gate USA , Pro Wrestling Noah and Best of Memphis and St. Louis Wrestling. On May 23, 2013, Fight Network launched three weekly talk shows on SiriusXM's Canada Talks. Fight Network's first international agreement
6104-608: The Canadian marketplace, a move intended to create a public outcry and a threat that Canadians would resort to using satellite viewing cards obtained via the US in order to watch RAI, even though these cards were either grey market or black market , according to different analyses (see below). Following unprecedented foreign led and domestic political interference with the CRTC's quasi-judicial independent regulatory process, within six months of its original decision, an abrupt CRTC "review" of its policy on third-language foreign services determined to drop virtually all restrictions and adopt
6213-570: The Federal Court of Canada. CBC Newsworld : The CRTC licensed the CBC on November 30, 1987, to provide a national all-news television network. Its competitor applicant, Alberta -based Allarcom , appealed this decision to the House of Commons of Canada . It was overturned and there were questions of whether federal politicians should meddle in CRTC decisions. Because of this the network launch
6322-618: The French language applications, which included a Christian music station, a community radio station and a campus radio station for the Université du Québec en Outaouais , in addition to or instead of the approved stations. The review ultimately identified a viable frequency for a third station, and CJFO-FM launched in 2010. Bell Canada usage-based billing : On October 28, 2010, the CRTC handed down its final decision on how wholesale customers can be billed by large network owners. Under
6431-558: The GFW rights; the lawsuit was ultimately settled out of court. Don Callis and Scott D'Amore became executive vice presidents in January 2018, taking charge of Impact Wrestling's day-to-day operations. At the first tapings under their tenure, the company reverted to a traditional four-sided ring, and the show also saw the return of former World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries , as well
6540-575: The Impact (abbreviated as BTI ), and Xplosion was canceled after 19 years the following month. During No Surrender Impact announced a new partnership with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Don Callis' time as Impact executive vice president and on-air talent ended in May. Slammiversary 2021 marked the return of in-person spectators for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. That month, BTI and Impact! would crossover for
6649-470: The January 4, 2010, episode of Impact! . Both obtained a position behind the scenes; with Bischoff part of creative and Hogan as a consultant. Under their tenure, TNA would see several revamps in 2010. Beginning with Genesis in January, TNA returned to using a four-sided ring. That month, Jakks Pacific announced a five-year agreement to produce TNA action figures. Impact! would also begin airing on Monday nights directly opposite of WWE Raw , marking
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#17327919982986758-500: The November 19 episode. The final episodes of 2014 were Best of TNA clip shows. On January 7, 2015, Impact Wrestling moved to Destination America , with a live debut from The Manhattan Center 's Grand Ballroom in New York City. In addition to Impact Wrestling , which was now airing on Friday nights, two new shows produced were Impact Wrestling: Unlocked , hosted by Mike Tenay , and TNA Wrestling's Greatest Matches ,
6867-594: The Radiocommunication Act creates a prohibition against all decoding of encrypted programming signals, followed by an exception where authorization is received from the person holding the lawful right in Canada to transmit and authorize decoding of the signal. This means receiving the encrypted programming of DishNetwork or DirecTV, even with a grey market subscription, may be construed as unlawful (this remains an unresolved Constitutional issue). Notwithstanding, possession of DishNetwork or DirecTV equipment
6976-525: The TNA Asylum as well as exclusive interviews with TNA wrestlers and the promotion's original weekly pay-per-view shows took place mostly at the Tennessee State Fairground Sports Arena in Nashville, Tennessee . The last weekly pay-per-view took place on September 8, 2004, with a total of 111 weekly pay-per-views. In May 2004, TNA introduced its second weekly television program, Impact! (stylized as iMPACT! ), produced at Soundstage 21 , nicknamed
7085-656: The TNA branding in January 2024. From its inception, TNA had been considered the second-largest in the United States behind WWE a position it would hold for most of the 2000s and early 2010s. The promotion was known for featuring former top talent from WCW, WWE, and ECW , such as Raven , Jeff Jarrett , and Sting , free agents that were released from the WWE such as Kurt Angle , Jeff Hardy , and Mr. Kennedy (who wrestled as Mr. Anderson in TNA), as well as more homegrown wrestlers who had not appeared in WWE yet and mainly performed for
7194-539: The Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) name. From October 26 to 28, Impact held events in Scotland and England , marking their first United Kingdom tour since 2015. In December 2023, the promotion announced it had signed a new toy license with PowerTown, to release its first line of product in August 2024. The name change to TNA took effect in January 2024, with the first event under
7303-511: The United States as important concessions. Despite popular perception that the CRTC banned Sirius Canada from broadcasting Howard Stern 's program, this is not the case. Sirius Canada in fact initially chose not to air Stern based on the possibility of a future issue with the CRTC, although the company reversed its decision and began offering Howard Stern in 2006. 2008 Ottawa radio licences : On November 21, 2008, federal Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages James Moore issued
7412-564: The World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE ) gaining a monopoly on the industry. While on a fishing trip, Bob Ryder , Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett contemplated their futures in the professional wrestling business under a parent company known as J Sports & Entertainment, LLC. Ryder suggested a company not reliant on television, but rather one going straight to pay-per-view . In July 2002, Vince Russo joined Jeff and Jerry Jarrett's NWA-TNA promotion as
7521-666: The abbreviation CRTC remained the same. On the telecom side, the CRTC originally regulated only privately held common carriers: Other telephone companies, many of which were publicly owned and entirely within a province's borders, were regulated by provincial authorities until court rulings during the 1990s affirmed federal jurisdiction over the sector, which also included some fifty small independent incumbents, most of them in Ontario and Quebec. Notable in this group were: The CRTC regulates all Canadian broadcasting and telecommunications activities and enforces rules it creates to carry out
7630-481: The broadcasting industry. Moreover, it does not deal with the availability of spectrum for mobile phone service, which is part of the Industry Canada mandate, nor the maintenance of competition, which is largely the responsibility of The Competition Bureau . Any transfer of more than 30% of the ownership of a broadcasting licence (including cable/satellite distribution licences) requires advance approval of
7739-634: The cable, satellite, or other broadcast distributor must send the CTV feed over the signal of the carried ABC affiliate, even where the ABC version is somehow different, particularly commercials. (These rules are not intended to apply in case of differing episodes of the same series; this difference may not always be communicated to distributors, although this is rather rare.) Viewers via home antenna who receive both American and Canadian networks on their personal sets are not affected by sim-sub. The goal of this policy
7848-407: The commission has very little to do with the regulation of mobile phone service, outside of "undue preference" issues (for example, a carrier offering a superior rate or service to some subscribers and not others without a good reason). It does not regulate service rates, service quality, or other business practices, and commission approval is not necessary for wireless provider sales or mergers as in
7957-485: The commission. One condition normally taken into account in such a decision is the level of foreign ownership; federal regulations require that Canadian citizens ultimately own a majority of a broadcast licence. Usually this takes the form of a public process, where interested parties can express their concerns and sometimes including a public hearing, followed by a commission decision. While landline and mobile telephone providers must also be majority-owned by Canadians under
8066-528: The company during this period. In April 2017, it was announced on Impact! that the promotion would "merge" with Jarrett's newer Global Force Wrestling (GFW) promotion. In the lead-up to the Slammiversary ;XV PPV, Anthem officially announced its intent to acquire GFW to formalize the merger. The company subsequently announced that they were re-branding again and taking the GFW name in June;
8175-561: The company in that year, and the contracts of TNA Hall of Famers Bully Ray and Devon reportedly expired in October 2014, with TNA moving them to the alumni section of their roster in January 2015. In late July, the TMZ website reported that Spike TV was not renewing Impact Wrestling beyond October. TNA would refute the report, stating that negotiations were still ongoing. On August 14, Impact Wrestling moved to Wednesday nights. On August 20, TNA signed an extension with Spike TV until
8284-427: The company. It was reported near the beginning of 2016 that Aroluxe Marketing, a Brentwood, Tennessee–based marketing agency, had taken a stake in TNA at the start of 2016 in return for providing partial funding, as well as taking over TNA's production operations. It was reported in June 2016 that Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan acquired a minority stake in TNA from Dixie Carter, but he had instead provided
8393-525: The debuts of Karl Anderson and Heath Slater . After the events of AEW Winter Is Coming on December 2, 2020, Impact began a partnership with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), which lasted until Bound for Glory 2021 . AEW-contracted wrestlers Kenny Omega and Christian Cage held the Impact World Championship during this time; this marked Cage's first in-ring return to the promotion since 2008. In February 2021, Impact launched Before
8502-529: The debuts of new wrestlers such as Kiera Hogan , Su Yung , Pentagón Jr. , Fénix and Brian Cage . The company also announced a partnership with live streaming service Twitch to produce content for their platform, starting with Brace for Impact , which was co-promoted with New Jersey–based promotion WrestlePro. Their first live show was Impact vs. Lucha Underground , a co-promoted show with Lucha Underground . Impact! subsequently moved to Pursuit Channel beginning January 11, 2019. Two months later,
8611-433: The end of 2014. In November 2014, TNA announced a new agreement with Discovery Communications to distribute its programming in the United States on Destination America and to selected international markets. Spike's outreach at the time was estimated to be more than 97 million homes while Destination America was estimated to reach 59 million households. Impact Wrestling ceased airing new televised events on Spike after
8720-509: The federal Telecommunications Act , the CRTC is not responsible for enforcement of this provision. In fact, the commission does not require licences at all for telephone companies, and CRTC approval is therefore not generally required for the sale of a telephone company, unless said company also owns a broadcast licence. Since 1987, the CRTC has been involved in several notable decisions, some of which led to controversy and debate. Milestone Radio : In two separate rounds of licence hearings in
8829-611: The first time that two major professional wrestling promotions would go head to head since the launch of WCW Monday Nitro in 1995. The show would permanently move to Mondays on March 8, 2010, Spike would keep the Thursday night slot open for repeats of the Monday night shows. During this time, Ric Flair , Rob Van Dam , Mr. Anderson would make their debuts, while Jeff Hardy would make his return. Impact! would later return to Thursday nights on May 3. On July 2, 2010, TNA hosted
8938-435: The first time, when Josh Alexander faced T. J. Perkins for the X Division Championship in Impact's first-ever 60-minute Iron man match , which began on BTI and concluded in the opening minutes of Impact! . Impact subsequently announced the end of their partnership with Twitch that August and launched a new YouTube membership program called "Impact Wrestling Insiders". In November 2022, Impact and DAZN signed
9047-545: The go-ahead to implement usage-based billing. This ruling according to Teksavvy handcuffs the competitive market. This has been asked by Stephen Harper and Parliament to have the decision reviewed. According to a tweet by Industry Minister Tony Clement , unless the CRTC reverses this decision, the government will use its override power to reverse the decision. While an exact number has not been determined, thousands of Canadians have purchased and used what they contend to be grey market radio and television services, licensed in
9156-410: The gradual deregulation of such services where, in the commission's opinion, a sufficient level of competition exists. The CRTC is sometimes blamed for the current state of the mobile phone industry in Canada, in which there are only three national mobile network operators – Bell Mobility , Telus Mobility , and Rogers Wireless – as well as a handful of MVNOs operating on these networks. In fact,
9265-421: The leader of the post-fascist party of Italy) had unilaterally terminated a 20-year-old agreement and stripped all of its 1,500 to 2,000 annual hours of programming from Telelatino (TLN), a Canadian-run channel which had devoted 95% of its prime time schedule to RAI programs for 20 years since TLN was founded. All Italian-Canadians were denied RAI programming by RAI International's removal of its programming from
9374-600: The many high-profile talent that would join the promotion during the show's run on Spike. From 2005 to 2009, these include Kevin Nash , Rhino , Christian Cage , Sting (who made appearances at previous "Asylum" shows), Scott Steiner , Kurt Angle , Booker T , and Mick Foley . In April 2006, TNA launched a YouTube channel, featuring clips from Impact and exclusive content. Beginning with Bound for Glory in October 2006, TNA began holding select pay-per-view events outside of Orlando, Florida. In January 2007, TNA announced
9483-463: The network claimed was on a "hiatus"). Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer reported that these cutbacks stemmed from the TNA buyout, citing that Anthem intended to use the promotion to bolster its programming, especially in international markets, but that the promotion's financial troubles had required Anthem to make cuts to Fight Network. In December 2018, Bell Media renewed its rights to the UFC, but ended
9592-423: The network was deliberately being kept out due to its perceived conservative bias , particularly given the long-standing availability of services such as CNN and BBC World in Canada. On November 18, 2004, however, the CRTC approved an application by cable companies to offer Fox News Channel on the digital cable tier. Fox commenced broadcasting in Canada shortly thereafter. Satellite radio : In June 2005,
9701-553: The network's expanded lineup. A high-definition feed launched in March 2013 initially on Rogers Cable. On December 22, 2014, Fight Network announced that it had sub-licensed portions of the UFC 's new Canadian rights agreement with Bell Media and TSN , including coverage of non-PPV preliminaries, international UFC Fight Night events, as well as other UFC archive programming, and the possibility of collaborating on other ancillary programs with TSN. In June 2015, Fight Network announced
9810-494: The new parent company. Shortly after Anthem's acquisition of TNA, it was re-branded to Impact Wrestling. On January 5, 2017 Jeff Jarrett was brought back by Anthem to serve as a consultant and later promoted to executive producer and chief creative officer. Anthem re-branded the promotion as Impact Wrestling, after its primary television series two months later. Wrestlers Drew Galloway , Matt Hardy , Jeff Hardy , Jade , Crazzy Steve , Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis left
9919-404: The pandemic, the promotion cancelled its planned TNA: There's No Place Like Home event, and Tessa Blanchard , who became the first woman to win the promotion's World Championship earlier that year at Hard to Kill , was fired and stripped of the championship after a long absence. Slammiversary saw the returns of The Motor City Machine Guns , Eric Young , Doc Gallows and EC3 , as well as
10028-468: The plan which starts within 90 days, Bell will be able to charge wholesale service providers a flat monthly fee to connect to its network, and for a set monthly usage limit per each ISP customer the ISP has. Beyond that set limit, individual users will be charged per gigabyte, depending on the speed of their connections. Customers using the fastest connections of five megabits per second, for example, will have
10137-605: The policies assigned to it; the best-known of these is probably the Canadian content rules. The CRTC reports to the Parliament of Canada through the Minister of Canadian Heritage , which is responsible for the Broadcasting Act, and has an informal relationship with Industry Canada , which is responsible for the Telecommunications Act . Provisions in these two acts, along with less-formal instructions issued by
10246-624: The promotion announced that Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) would serve as its developmental territory once again. In May, Impact Plus replaced the Global Wrestling Network as the official streaming app for the promotion. Impact! began airing on Anthem-owned AXS TV after Bound for Glory in October. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , Impact would hold events behind closed doors at Skyway Studios in Nashville. During
10355-613: The promotion later touring in Germany , Scotland and Ireland in 2009, France , Wales and the United Arab Emirates in 2010 and Belgium in 2012. In February 2008, Jakks Pacific announced it had signed a multi-year master toy license agreement with TNA, to release products starting in 2010. In March 2008, Tristar Productions acquired an exclusive license deal to produce and distribute TNA trading cards and memorabilia. On September 9, 2008, Midway Games released
10464-432: The promotion such as AJ Styles and Samoa Joe . (Some of whom would later be signed by WWE during the mid to late 2010s as TNA suffered financial issues). From 2015 to 2017, the promotion was viewed by some to have fallen behind longtime rival Ring of Honor ; with the loss of their U.S. television contract with Spike in 2014, as well as monetary and personnel issues, being noted as factors to their decline. By 2019,
10573-712: The promotion was viewed to have recovered through its sustained international distribution, and the purchase by its parent company of AXS TV ; which subsequently began carrying the promotion's programming. TNA is currently viewed as being the third-largest wrestling promotion in the United States; following the establishment of All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in 2019, and its current television deals with Warner Bros. Discovery 's TNT and TBS (both of which are seen in more households than AXS). Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s The concept of TNA originated shortly after World Championship Wrestling (WCW) ended in 2001, with
10682-586: The rapid progress in the industry they are working on a more in depth study to be concluded in May 2012. The CRTC does not directly regulate rates, quality of service issues, or business practices for Internet service providers. However, the CRTC does continually monitor the sector and associated trends. To handle complains, the CRTC was ordered by the Government of Canada to create an independent, industry-funded agency to resolve complaints from consumers and small business retail telecom customers. In July 2007,
10791-562: The re-branding was short-lived as they severed ties with Jarrett that October and the deal for Anthem to acquire GFW was never completed. During that time, Anthem launched the Global Wrestling Network , a new streaming service which featured content from to their tape library and other sources. Jarrett subsequently filed a lawsuit against Anthem in the District Court of Tennessee for copyright infringement over
10900-467: The reinstated TNA banner being Hard To Kill . On February 7, Anthem Sports & Entertainment announced that Scott D'Amore's contract with TNA was terminated , with D'Amore being removed from his position as President of TNA, later being replaced by Anthony Cicione. From June 2002 until September 2004, the promotion's original weekly pay-per-view shows took place mostly at the Tennessee State Fairground Sports Arena in Nashville, Tennessee , nicknamed
11009-439: The same usage insurance plan it sells to retail customers. Bell appealed both requirements, citing that the rules do not apply to cable companies and that they constituted proactive rate regulation by the CRTC, which goes against government official policy direction that the regulator only intervene in markets after a competitive problem has been proven. In Thursday's decision, the CRTC rescinded both requirements, thereby giving Bell
11118-433: The station for failing to uphold its promise of performance and then, during the years following, receiving about 50 complaints about offensive behaviour by radio jockeys which similarly contravened CRTC rules on broadcast hate speech. Many thousands of the station's fans marched in the streets and on Parliament Hill against the decision, and the parent company of CHOI, Genex Corp., appealed the CRTC decision unsuccessfully to
11227-657: The sublicensing deal with Fight Network. Fight Network produces several weekly news shows, including: Other international MMA promotions aired on FN include M-1 Challenge from Russia and the Netherlands, Ultimate Challenge MMA from the U.K. Extreme Fighting Championship Africa, Super Fight League from India, Other North American MMA promotions aired on FN include the Canadian MMA promotion SLAMM: Tristar Fights, Battlefield Fight League, Hard Knocks Fighting Championship, Aggression Fighting Championship and Rumble in
11336-434: The telecommunication industry, media producers, and cultural leaders among others. The evidence was inconclusive, suggesting that an increased availability of OTT options is not having a negative impact on the availability or diversity of Canadian content, one of the key policy mandates of the CRTC, nor are there signs that there has been a significant decline of television subscriptions through cable or satellite. However, given
11445-437: Was delayed from September 1, 1988, to July 31, 1989. RAI International : In Summer 2004, this Italian government-controlled channel was denied permission to broadcast independently in Canada on the grounds that it had acted and was likely to act contrary to established Canadian policies. RAI International's latest politically appointed President (an avowed right wing nationalist and former spokesperson for Giorgio Almirante,
11554-513: Was initially available on Rogers Cable in Ontario and New Brunswick. Prior to The Fight Network's launch, it acquired professional wrestling radio show Live Audio Wrestling , syndicating it under the Fight Network Radio banner. BlackOut Communications originally owned The Fight Network, but after several organizational restructurings, Fight Media Inc. assumed ownership. In December 2010, former Canwest CEO Leonard Asper made
11663-463: Was required to pay Corgan back by November 1. It was possible that one of the other minority owners could pay Corgan, effectively making them the majority owner of TNA. On November 3, the company revealed that Anthem Sports & Entertainment provided a credit facility to fund operations for TNA and that Corgan was removed as the promotion's president. However, Corgan himself stated that neither TNA nor Anthem Sports & Entertainment had yet repaid
11772-704: Was shut down on December 1, 2008. In November 2012, Fight Network expanded into the U.S. market with the launch of a subscription service on NeuLion . In July 2015, Fight Network launched on Suddenlink Communications across the United States From July 2018 until 2020, Fight Network returned to the UK as a program block on Showcase TV . Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ( CRTC ; French : Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes )
11881-495: Was with American IPTV provider Backspace. Fight Network launched on their system in the United States in 2007; however, after several months, Backspace removed the channel from its systems. Fight Network opened an office in Ecuador as part of unrealized plans for an expansion in that region. In 2008, Anthem purchased UK-based TWC Fight! and subsequently rebranded the network as a domestic verion of The Fight Network. The network
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