Ben Shalom has revealed that Boxxer are set to announce a new broadcast deal that will air pay-per-view fights. In June, the UK promotional outfit parted ways with Sky Sports, with the broadcaster choosing not to renew after their four year deal expired.
In August, Shalom’s Boxxer moved over to the BBC, a terrestrial service reaching every home in the UK. The viewing potential for Shalom’s fights, therefore, is vast but with no payment required to view, the budget for bigger bouts that Sky Sports provided is just not there. The BBC is not for profit and unable to charge a fee for any events, leaving Boxxer unable to generate enough money for the big matchups. Shalom has found a solution to the problem.
“Our deal with BBC is consistent and we're going to be putting up, building big fights on there, but we have a pay-per-view model that we'll be announcing next week. It's not going to sit on the BBC," Shalom told BoxingScene and other reporters.
“Our fights on the BBC, obviously I know people complain about the TV licence [in the UK], but it's as free as you can get. Pay-per-view is always going to have to exist because the fighters need that dream. Like weddings, you dream of changing your life through boxing. I know it's unfortunate for fans, but otherwise maybe you're not getting the fighters willing to put their lives on the line and go to the top level. That's the reality of the sport.”
Shalom also confirmed that the platform would be non-subscription based, only charging for pay-per-view.
When Shalom first announced his deal with BBC back in June, it was rumoured to only include four events per-year on the platform. Boxxer has already completed two shows on the BBC, Frazer Clarke-Jeamie Tshikeva in November and Callum Simpson-Troy Williamson in December, with Adam Azim-Gustavo Lemos also booked in to take place on January 31. With three out of the four already on the books, it would lead one to believe that more is on the way.
“Yeah well we have dates on March 7, April 4, May 2,” Shalom said. “So we're already well into that and we can't, I'm not going to go into details and let others speculate, but we're on course for pretty consistent shows.”
So how happy is the BBC with Boxxer’s work so far? The two main events haven’t gone the way Shalom would have hoped, with both Clarke and Simpson suffering defeats, but the fights have been competitive, and, perhaps most importantly, entertaining.
“They can't believe that we're able to put on the level of fights that we're on the BBC,” said Shalom. “The reality is they don't have the budget of the other broadcasters so we've managed to put in a model that works. The sponsors are paying extremely well for the eyeballs that they're getting and it's fantastic for British boxing. So long may it continue, because we need it. I think the sport needs it. Look at what's going on in the US, like that's a danger that can happen. So really we need to support the move of a national broadcaster getting into boxing and being excited about boxing because that's what's going to keep boxing healthy in this country.
“So yeah, it's amazing that we're able to do it, their support has been really good, it's only going to get bigger. It's a bit like an oil tanker, it takes a long time for them to get into gear because it's a huge, huge platform and it's a huge organisation, but we're already seeing the effects and it will snowball and snowball and snowball, and I believe will become the most powerful platform in British boxing to build stars, I really do.”
