And putting it on network TV, no less. I’m fascinated–while I wouldn’t call myself a fan, I do enjoy a good match when I can see one. Mind you, that’s vanishingly rare–a combination of the PPV model and the sorry state of the sport in the US. Which leads me to why I’m really fascinated here: I just want to see how this works out. I’m surprised NBC thinks they can make money on it, and that they’re willing to take the risk of an especially brutal fight alienating advertisers.
What do you all think? Plan to give it a watch?
Al Michaels, Marv Albert and Sugar Ray Leonard are involved. I haven’t watched or followed boxing in a long time, so I don’t even know the fighters involved with PBC, but I would give it a watch.
Looks like NBC decided it got tired of reruns on Saturday night that nobody was watching. It may also be something Spike wants to fill the hole caused by TNA/Impact Wrestling leaving.
It also seems to be concentrating on two weight classes.
Saturday night boxing has worked well for HBO and SHO. They don’t have to sell the commercial time, it’s mainly a way for them to attract and hold subscribers, but network TV is dead on Saturday nights so they probably won’t do worse with it than anything else they put on. They won’t be putting on the top money fights, those will all be on PPV anyway. I’ll watch, boxing fans in general will watch. Maybe this is a way to counter Fox’s venture into MMA.
Also, NBC cable has been running a boxing show for a while now, these fights may be a little higher ranking, but it’s no great additional cost for NBC to produce this show.
I won’t be watching, but as someone old enough to remember when boxing was huge, I am curious as to whether the sport is dead or merely “not at all well.”
While boxing isn’t nearly as popular as it once was, top boxers today get paid more than ever. MMA fighters wish they were getting paid like boxers.
Also, I listen to a fair bit of UK sport talk radio. Most of it’s football, but boxing gets its fair share of mentions–I gather that it’s a significantly more popular sport over there than it is here. (Of course, it’s a tiny market in comparison, so take that for what it’s worth.)