You would agree that asking an audience to stay up past midnight on a Tuesday night is a big ask these days?
That’s what TNT did last night by pushing AEW Dynamite all the way into the early morning. Fans of the show had to wait until 1230AM EST to catch the 1 hour special.
That show dubbed “Late Night Dynamite” turned into Early Morning Dynamite for a lot of fans.
Now, no network runner would do anything to mess with an NBA Playoff schedule that on this particular night featured the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James.
And it normally wouldn’t be advised to rush Inside The NBA, the best basketball show on TV right now, to a conclusion faster than needed.
But the programs lingered on for over 45 minutes past the game’s conclusion. It seemed almost like a cruel joke, as they moved on to humor segments and highlights from other leagues. The last 30 minutes of that show didn’t have to be there.
You also might challenge and say “That’s what a DVR is for.”.
If you’re a wrestling fan, you know that spoilers are unavoidable and the networks themselves are keen on shooting out events as they occur on all of their social media channels.
So, if you were an AEW fan last night, it was much harder than expected to get your show. That should never be that way.
I can remember when I was a kid. I used to stay up until almost midnight to watch Main Event when they pre-empted Saturday Night Live. It was fun.
But this was a Tuesday night.
TNT has to be more proactive in getting the most out of this still young but promising wrestling endeavor. They also blew a valuable lead in of potential fans last night too.
Let’s try harder to do right by both the show and network viewers next time. When you factor in NBA Basketball and the regular rotation of blockbuster films, this really is an environment where everything can thrive.