By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

TNA's TV situation in the U.K., which is their second-largest TV market, is at critical status right now. By the end of the year, Impact could potentially be off the air due to the changing U.K. TV market.

Impact currently airs on Bravo, which is owned by Living TV Group. Sky TV (British Sky Broadcasting) has bought out Living TV Group, with the acquisition reportedly going through yesterday after a government review.

As a result of the acquisition, Sky has stated they will cancel Bravo, which they believe is too similar to their existing variety channel in the market. Sky does not want to run similar programming on side-by-side channels.

Impact would be left without a home when Bravo is canceled. No timetable has been announced on when the changes will be pushed through and become visible to customers, but indications are that it likely wouldn't happen until early 2011.

WWE TV currently airs on Sky's programming channels and there is reportedly an exclusivity agreement between WWE and Sky. It's unlikely TNA would be able to hook up with Sky due to the exclusivity protection.

TNA is reportedly confident they will find a new home for Impact to stay on U.K. TV next year. The importance of having a new TV home in the market is critical ahead of their annual U.K. tour in January headlined by Ric Flair.

We'll continue to monitor this changing situation and Impact's future in the U.K. market.

Update: TNA issued a brief statement in response to the news today on Impact's uncertain TV future.

“Following the acquisition of Virgin Media TV channels (now rebranded as The Living TV Group) by Sky, there has always been the possibility of fundamental changes to those channels, including Bravo. However, we remain confident in TNA’s position due to the outstanding ratings enjoyed in 2010, and our long term contract with the Living TV Group,” TNA executive VP Andy Barton said.

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