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Last Friday night's premiere episode of the HBO documentary series "On Freddie Roach" drew just 188,000 viewers, according to TV By the Numbers.
Since I've got no idea what HBO would be targeting, I don't know if this is remotely successful or not. I can say that it did more viewers than their series "The Life and Times of Tim," which drew 107,000 viewers.
Unlike actual fights, I don't think the ratings are really the concern here, either -- I'm simply sharing the information in case anyone is interested. Creatively and in terms of substance, I think the debut episode was definitely an artistic success, and that's probably the greater concern for the show. Boxing fans seem to have enjoyed it, and our own Chris Celletti gave the show a positive review on Saturday.
There has been a pretty decent buzz in boxing communities about the series, so it'll be interesting to see if the show's numbers improve thanks to word of mouth. It's a show that deserves to be watched, and is available right now on HBO on Demand and HBO Go. If you missed it, give it a look.