GFW Moving Forward With Global Broadcast And Digital Expansion Initiatives

Despite Global Force Wrestling’s latest issues (losing money, Anthem looking to sell the company, Jeff Jarrett taking a ‘leave of absence’), the company is moving forward with several initiatives to help grow their brand on an international level.

One of the initiatives mentioned was the creation of the Global Wrestling Network, which will be a 24-hour multi-platform digital television service, giving fans around the world instant access to the GFW/Impact Wrestling/TNA Wrestling tape library.  The service will be available on Android, iOS, and at a new website, globalwrestlingnetwork.com.  This would be a service very similar to the WWE Network;  right now there is no confirmed details as to what the monthly fee would be in North America (WWE Network is $9.99 per month, with the first month free to new subscribers).  The service will offer free episodes of Impact as a back catalog offering, but there are no other details as to other content that will be available when the service is launched.

GFW also announced the following items:

– Plans to launch the IMPACT Wrestling Channel on Pluto TV, a 24-hour live feed of content on the leading free over-the-top (OTT) television service in the U.S.

– Extension with Pop TV in the U.S. to continue airing its flagship weekly show IMPACT on Thursday nights at 8:00 p.m. ET.

– Distribution deal with 7Sports, the sport business unit of the ProSiebenSat.1 Group, to bring IMPACT back to screens in Germany, Austria and Switzerland via ran FIGHTING.

Full release via impactwrestling.com:

“These digital initiatives and broadcast agreements are a significant step forward for the Global Force Wrestling organization as we continue to expand the brand globally, making it available on more platforms and in more countries,” said Ed Nordholm, president of Global Force Wrestling. “Anthem is committed to broadening Global Force Wrestling’s footprint, as we work alongside international broadcast partners, digital platforms and professional wrestling promotions to bring our passionate fans a high-quality product that not only stands out in today’s media landscape, but continues to thrive into the future.”

“We are excited to extend our partnership with Anthem and remain the exclusive linear television home of IMPACT in the U.S.,” said David Mandell, COO of Pop. “IMPACT delivers over 100 hours of original programming per year on Pop with some of the best and most passionate fans in television. With our broad distribution across all major cable and satellite providers, as well as almost every new over-the-top bundle, including DirecTV Now, Sony Vue, Fubo TV, Hulu TV and YouTube TV, IMPACT fans have more options than ever to catch their favorite show every week.”

“The deal with ProSieben marks the second major European broadcaster to license IMPACT, including Spike UK earlier this year,” Nordholm added. “Coupled with the Pop renewal, our digital launches and significant increase in YouTube views, this reflects the increasing excitement and demand for GFW’s content.”