IMPACT Wrestling issued the following press release touting the success of this past week’s episode on AXS, which scored the promotion their largest viewership number since moving to the network last year, which is largely in part to the special appearance by AEW world champion Kenny Omega. The release also teases that the Cleaner may be coming back to IMPACT’s programming soon. Details are below.
NASHVILLE, TN – (December 10, 2020) – This past Tuesday night’s edition of IMPACT! on AXS TV shattered IMPACT Wrestling viewing records across digital platforms and trended No.1 on Twitter.
More than 750,000 fans tuned in to AXS TV on December 8 or have logged on to official streams to witness the historic, industry-shaking episode.
Reigning All Elite Wrestling World Champion Kenny Omega joined IMPACT Wrestling Executive Don Callis in breaking their silence following last week’s stunning events. AEW owner Tony Khan, flanked by AEW commentator Tony Schiavone, also appeared on IMPACT Wrestling’s flagship show in a sponsored segment.
“The intrigue of what Kenny Omega and Don Callis were going to do on IMPACT! on AXS TV powered a huge night for us,” said IMPACT Executive Vice-President Scott D’Amore.
According to Nielsen TV ratings, 244,342 tuned into the 8pm ET and 11pm ET repeat.
The usual 8pm ET live-stream on Twitch peaked at 55,396, with an average of 42,953 viewers for the two-hour show’s duration. IMPACT! was the fourth largest Twitch stream of the day. The live NFL game – which went head to head with IMPACT! – peaked at just over 30,000.
Special encore presentations on IMPACT Wrestling’s Facebook and YouTube pages added 68,918 and 268,414 viewers respectively to the television audience. The show trended in the Top 15 on YouTube and IMPACT Plus recorded record peak concurrent views.
In addition, the segment of Josh Mathews interviewing Callis and Omega already has more than 197,242 views on Facebook and more than 342,00 views on YouTube. On Instagram, the segment currently has 146,000 views and 219,000 views on Twitter.
D’Amore said: “It is hard to compare apples and oranges, and some digital media provide better watch-data than others, but we feel confident over 750,000 U.S.-based fans watched the episode in the first 24-hours and 1-million fans have clicked on the various highlights we’ve put out on social media.”
He added: “It was a huge night for us. For me, the best takeaway is that fans who may not have seen IMPACT Wrestling before, or perhaps haven’t checked us out for a while, they all got to see what IMPACT is all about.
“They saw the depth of talent in the KNOCKOUTS division, the rekindling of the red hot Sami Callihan vs Eddie Edwards rivalry and a great main event featuring Rich Swann, Willie Mack, Chris Bey and Moose.”
Asked whether Omega would make his way to IMPACT next week, D’Amore said: “Don Callis alluded to this being years in the making; paradigm’s don’t shift in one night. See you on Tuesday.”
