As noted, WWE is reportedly back in the running to potentially buy out TNA Wrestling, as the second biggest pro wrestling promotion in North America is getting close to pulling the trigger one way or another on a deal of some kind in the very near future.
In terms of the value of TNA to WWE, there are starting to be estimates surfacing online. While nothing is definite and the figures are completely based on speculation and numbers from similar deals WWE has made in the past, it looks like there is an actual formula to determine what they would be willing to spend to acquire the promotion.
WWE’s only real motivating factor behind getting involved in negotiations to attempt to buy out TNA would be strictly to acquire their tape library, which is around 14-years deep at this point, making it at least a potential seven-figure deal.
Outside of some exceptions, WWE has priced video library acquisitions at $500 per hour. While not exact by any means, if you wanted to determine a ballpark figure for such a deal you could estimate that TNA has accumulated three-hours of programming over 14 years with two-hour Impact Wrestling and one-hour Xplosion shows each week and prior to that, weekly three-hour pay-per-view shows during their formative years.
Using those figures in your equation to try and reach an approximate dollar amount that WWE would be willing to spend to acquire TNA, the end result would have TNA’s value to WWE at the $1.09 million range.
If TNA fails to find an investor or buyer to fund Bound For Glory and their follow-up television tapings at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, which kicks off with the pay-per-view this Sunday, WWE could very well purposely wait in the hopes that TNA ends up going bankrupt. This would give WWE more leverage to gain the best possible rates as they could simply pick up the pieces that interest them at auction for a considerable amount less than if they were to deal with the current owners directly. Such a scenario would be very similar to the way things played out when WWE acquired ownership rights to ECW back in 2001.
With the final business day before the Bound For Glory PPV and subsequent TV tapings being this Friday, one way or another, the clock is ticking and TNA will have to make a significant financial deal before the end of this week to stay afloat. Based on past reports, TNA would need somewhere in the neighborhood of mid-to-high six-figures to finance their PPV and a block of TV tapings.
As always, we will keep you updated as soon as any additional information regarding the future of TNA Wrestling and/or the potential sale of the company becomes available.