Network Television and Why Pacquiao-Mosley Is Relevant
by Scott Christ on Apr 29, 2011 3:31 PM EDT
in Business of Boxing
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Non-fans keep asking me why anyone should care about the May 7 fight between Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley, and frankly I'm quick to admit that there is an exceptionally strong chance that the fight is no more competitive than any of Pacquiao's recent fights. That Mosley is too old. That the matchup is more "event" than it is "fight."
But Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports posted a terrific article about the reality of this fight today, and I strongly recommend everyone read it. Through Manny Pacquiao, and this fight, boxing is making a serious push to get back on network television.
From the advent of television through the mid-1980s, boxing was one of network TV’s staples. But then HBO and Showtime came along and, desperate for programming to supplement their movie offerings, began to broadcast boxing.
They began to wave large license fees at promoters for the rights to broadcast their fights. And promoters eagerly accepted the inflated fees. But to [Top Rank executive Todd] duBoef, it didn’t feel right.
"I looked at it as short-term gain ending in a long-term failure for the sport," he said.
duBoef made up his mind last year to try and make a major move:
The landscape began to shift in January 2010, when, after negotiations to make a match between Pacquiao and Mayweather fell through, Top Rank instead made a match for Pacquiao with Joshua Clottey.
It was being held on the same date, March 13, that the Mayweather-Pacquiao bout was to have been held, and HBO Pay-Per-View was going to distribute. But HBO Sports executives declined to do a "24/7" series around the fight, though they were going to do one had the show been Mayweather-Pacquiao.
Beginning with the De La Hoya-Mayweather fight in 2007, HBO’s "24/7" series had proven to be a hit with boxing fans and helped drive pay-per-view sales. When duBoef couldn’t convince HBO Pay-Per-View to do a "24/7" on Pacquiao-Clottey, he determined he would finally act on his instincts and shop for a television partner with wider distribution.
This has all resulted in Showtime becoming a major competitor to HBO, which has dominated the boxing landscape in the United States for the last decade, as the host network for Oscar de la Hoya, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Pacquiao, and basically all of boxing's biggest stars. By landing a Pacquiao fight, Showtime -- and their network partner under the Viacom banner, CBS -- made it clear that they had arrived on boxing's biggest stage.
So that's the biggest reason to care about this fight. I'm not suggesting everyone pay $54.95 to see it. But if the pay-per-view is successful, and the Fight Camp 360 episodes that air on CBS draw good ratings, then there is a chance that maybe, just maybe, we see a live, major boxing fight in front of a CBS viewership that reaches 115 million homes, instead of Showtime's 19 million or HBO's 29 million.
And if you've been wondering why many boxing fans are so keenly interested in Todd duBoef's ideas, this article presents a lot of reasons. Again, strongest recommendation to read for those interested in why this event is relevant, and the business of boxing in general.
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Yeah but the fightcamp 360 has sucked
Not compelling TV is not compelling
by journeyintosound on Apr 29, 2011 3:37 PM EDT reply actions
It sucked if you’re a hardcore, or even medium core boxing fan who follows the sport regularly—but for introducing Pac and Mosley to a mainstream audience, I think it was mostly good. Lots of people they’re trying to reach have barely heard of these guys, it’s like remedial reading instead of advanced studies, but that seems fine in the circumstances. Namely the selling of boxing to a much bigger audience.
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
I actually enjoyed the one episode I watched. I’m into this sort of " look behind the scenes" show though, so me liking it was a foregone conclusion.
by The Twillness on Apr 29, 2011 8:36 PM EDT up reply actions
Bizarro world
About ten years ago, would anyone have thought that it would be boxing clamoring for a return to national TV while MMA would be freely available on basic cable?
Live MMA is hardly freely available on basic cable.
At least at the high level. Bellator is weak besides two fighters (Alvarez and Lombard) who can only get matched up with scrubs, and UFC shows on Spike and Versus have been featuring bottom tier talent besides the headliners. Not prospects moving up, guys proven to be bottom tier like Amir Sadollah, Jonothan Brookins, and other Ultimate Fighter contestants who are not very good fighters. The next card on Versus is full of guys who will likely be cut by the UFC after this event, should have been cut already, or hilariously overhyped heavyweights. A majority of the fighters on the card are coming off losses (Vasquez, Marquardt, Stevenson, Howard, Griffin, Gamburyan, Brown, Lauzon and others) and a lot of the rest are coming off controversial or uninspiring performances (Barry, Kongo, Kampmann).
I love MMA, but the recent cable offerings have been phoned in at best.
"Someone is WRONG on the internet. What do you want me to do? LEAVE? Then they'll keep being wrong!"
-Randall Munroe
Off the top of my head, fights like nogueira-davis and gomi-griffin from versus events weren’t bad on paper. They definitely dont have scrubs on cable fight cards. MMA has also made it to CBS where guys like Aoki, Shields, Melendez and other high caliber guys have fought. Its not like cable, normal TV is being used for the bad fights.
When you consider that MMA was once banned on PPV and is now regularly on cable, while boxing which has been around for centuries is struggling to get on, its a sad state of affairs.
Well if there is a real lockout of NFL or NBA… the national stations just might be willing for fork over the $$$ if Pacman/Mosley is a success later on in the fall.
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
Just give it up fellas....
Somebody is actually working to bring boxing back to the mainstream which to a lifetime boxing fanatic is a dream that even a year ago seemed to absurd to consider.
Props where props are due.
Yes, that does mean Arum for those that can’t stand him…and duBoef for those that don’t him.
Let me repeat, I am friendly with the latter….but I am not in this business.
What I do admire is broad forward thinking. In anyone! In this case it happens top be the man who is most likely the one of if not the most influential executive in Boxing today.
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
Sure but I think a majority of the praise should go to Ken Hershman for making this even possible. If Hershman doesn’t make the Super Six or other ambitious moves for ShoBox, there is no way in hell that Bob Arum reaches out to Showtime and gets Fight Camp on network television. I’m pretty sure Scott has already written an article that effectively does this…
"The bell that tolls for all in boxing belongs to a cash register."
-Bob Verdi
by Waldo Rastel on Apr 29, 2011 7:24 PM EDT up reply actions
Hershman probably deserves some credit for taking huge steps for SHO Sports (not just in boxing either), but I truly think that Todd duBoef deserves the most credit in this situation. He seems like a true idea man who thinks differently than your average boxing promoter and is quite frankly probably far more in tune with the culture around him than Arum, Schaefer, even Oscar who you would expect would have been the guy to make this move some time ago.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Apr 29, 2011 7:27 PM EDT up reply actions
You can't compare the two Waldo
One sits and thinks every day how to make Boxing mainstream.
The other thinks how to make his mainstream vehicle relevant.
They all deserve credit….but the lions share by far is Top Rank’s duBoef.
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
Its hard to say, but I believe that both deserve a good huzzah!
"The bell that tolls for all in boxing belongs to a cash register."
-Bob Verdi
by Waldo Rastel on Apr 29, 2011 8:14 PM EDT up reply actions
Coming grudgingly from mo' fo' like you....that's huge.
BTW, don’t get me wrong, Hershman is a very important player here.
But besides boxing, he is obsessed with the Jets and the Yankees, traffic in NYC… and Nascar. All good but not the sole focus of his mission.
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
He also helped build a nice #2 MMA promotion, too, at least before UFC bought Strikeforce. They brought Inside the NFL over (I think the show sucks, but it’s a respected brand), the NASCAR show is very good, the SF Giants show has drawn good reviews, etc.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Apr 29, 2011 9:03 PM EDT up reply actions
He is good at his job, no doubt
And cares about boxing being on terrestial TV (duh) and not PPV.
This is good for boxing and his employer, Showtime.
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
Furthermore,
The entertainment and media world has changed so fast right under the noses of the networks and newspapers that once dominated them that it is in almost every case th young gun less burdened by the institutions that employ them who are best able to see and plan the futures of these businesses.
Arum is a great promoter but he is a media novice. He I smart enough to know that. Thus he has hired his stepson who, before learning the boxing trade as it was, went overseas and studied sports in the media. His relationships are with this generation’s media executives. The very same ones who in many ways will determine to a large extent what and how we see what we will.
Well before I met him and heard his perspective, Thomas Hauser had written on this subject extensively. It’s worth a read.
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
I'm worried about who will carry the torch in the future
Right now we have two huge stars with the ability to carry a network fight- manny and Floyd. Floyd isn’t fighting and Let’s be honest Pacman isn’t going to be fighting for much longer. Actually neither one of them is. What happens after that? Who would they put on Tv?
People worried about this with Oscar. He was replaced by a Filipino who was too small for superstardom. Everyone gets replaced. I honestly don’t know right now, but I also wouldn’t have told you Manny Pacquiao would be this guy in 2008 either.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Apr 30, 2011 12:48 AM EDT up reply actions
and I would add
It would be far more beneficial to start getting people interested in the sport instead of fighters. UFC has proven this, and you don’t even need to be a single promotion controlling to get this across. A network deal would undoubtedly be with a single promoter — at this time it would appear Top Rank will get there first. There are plenty of exciting fighters under the Top Rank banner. Pacquiao has, I think, proven that nobody is too small to make fans, so I wouldn’t even count out someone like Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. becoming a real star.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Apr 30, 2011 12:50 AM EDT up reply actions
Exactly.
Boxing….not individual fighters is the name of the game.
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
Jordan was replaced.
Magic was replaced. Bird was replaced.
Everyone gets replaced.
Promoters work to create new stars, to give them exposure, marketing dollars etc. With the infrastructure in place, along comes the next Kobe or Lebron.
Manny just arrived as a PPV star the last few years.
Boxing is getting more exposurre because of him but he will set the table for the next and the next.
Boxing is bigger than any one fighter.
In a global marketplace where a small Filipino can become a megastar on a scale argubly unprecedented (due to modern communications), I am confident some killer emerges from someplace that once again fills the vacuum when Manny leaves the stage.
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
I get what y'all are saying
But it still took Oscar to make Floyd and Manny what they are today. It wasn’t until both guys fought him that they were propelled to stardom. I’m just worried that they won’t still be fighting when it’s time for them to help build a new star. You make good points though I think the NBA comparison is really not comparable given the popularity of college ball and it’s impact in building stars for the NBA.
I’m certainly not saying it isn’t worrisome — that’s a big reason I suggest building a boxing brand instead of a fighter brand. For U.S. interest, boxing has lived through Oscar, Floyd and Manny for almost 20 years, with some late-period Tyson in there for a while. Time will come when there’s just no major star if they aren’t careful/lucky.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Apr 30, 2011 1:22 PM EDT up reply actions
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