HBO threw in the towel and ended its 45-year run with live boxing in 2018, but they are reentering the boxing ring again to create premium programming. The network is developing Unruly, a six-part series on the world’s first Black heavyweight boxing champion in Jack Johnson. Two-time Academy Award winner and True Detective star Mahershala Ali will star in the series and play the role of Johnson.
Viewership of ESPN’s boxing broadcast Tuesday night was the lowest of the seven weeknight shows since the network began airing the sport again June 9. Nielsen Media Research numbers released Wednesday indicated an average of 298,000 viewers watched the three-hour, 15-minute telecast. A peak audience of 378,000 tuned in during the main event, Alex Saucedo’s victory over Sonny Fredrickson at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.
A time-marking ring appearance by Miguel Berchelt along with a strong combat sports lead-in helped ESPN produce its most favorable ranking for a boxing telecast during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
After a slight delay due to Covid-related issues, this intriguing main event is back on. As noted in an intended preview then, the story is probably more intriguing for Pedraza (26-3, 13 KO). The former two division titlist is 1-2 in his last three fights and, while neither was what one would call a bad loss, he’s now competing at Jr. welterweight.
Eddie Hearn thinks the viewership figures from Top Rank’s ESPN shows in June are bad for the boxing business overall. The British promoter pointed to the level of fights Top Rank has put together the past three weeks as the primary reason more viewers haven’t watched consistently. The first of six Top Rank cards ESPN has aired on weeknights since June 9 from Las Vegas drew the highest viewership, a peak audience of 609,000 during Shakur Stevenson’s sixth-round knockout of Felix Caraballo in the main event and an average audience of 397,000.
More viewers tuned in for Jason Moloney’s big win in Las Vegas than was the case for the first career loss suffered by his twin brother in the same right two nights earlier. The June 25 edition of Top Rank Boxing on ESPN averaged 345,000 viewers over the course of the six-fight, three-plus hour telecast according to Nielsen Media Research. Thursday’s show reached a peak audience of 430,000 viewers, coming at the 11:15-11:30pm ET block which coincided with the main event.
Two legends of Scottish boxing are to come back to television screens next month as BBC Scotland plans to fill the gap brought about by a lack of live sport by showing the classic 15-round battle between Ken Buchanan and Jim Watt.
ESPN televised a much more compelling main event Tuesday night, but viewership was only slightly higher than it was for its previous boxing broadcast on a weeknight. Nielsen Media Research revealed Wednesday that the network’s three-hour, 31-minute telecast Tuesday night was watched by an average of 310,000 viewers. The peak audience of 390,000 tuned in toward the conclusion of the main event, Joshua Franco’s upset of Andrew Moloney in their 12-round, 115-pound title fight at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.
Home viewers stuck around for the start of the latest ESPN-televised boxing show to help produce the highest peak audience since the sport returned to its airwaves earlier this month. Unfortunately, only a handful remained on board in time for the headlining act.
Bob Arum isn’t as disappointed as some people invested in boxing over viewership figures from the shows his promotional company has provided ESPN during the past two weeks. With few live sporting events televised this month due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many industry insiders expected ESPN’s viewership to be higher for boxing shows the network has aired live on Tuesday nights and Thursday nights since June 9 from MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas. More people are home during the pandemic, which theoretically expands ESPN’s viewership potential, but boxing fans’ most common complaint has been the quality of fights ESPN has aired in its four telecasts thus far.