Let's just face the fact that the mainstream sports media will never going to cover boxing on a consistent basis.
Many fans don't even know who fought this week, will be fighting next, etc.
Because most american networks are not really about providing a quality network.
It's more about finding ways to screw each and every american out of the most amount of money possible. Comcast, our major cable provider was under investigation by the FBI
I use hulu live stream now
PBC could have easily set up their own Boxing TV Channel a couple of years ago when they had limitless funds and a big stable of star fighters.
The problem with that plan is that Showtime would still be looking to spend big money on boxing and that money would just go to somebody else instead. For Haymon to wind up with a pseudo monopoly of big time US boxing in the long term, he's got to make sure to not let new people into the game and to slowly choke off those already in the game.
It's the same reason he didn't create PBC world championships. Because then all of the WBC/WBA/IBF titles he monopolizes would suddenly be available to other promoters. Just as Showtime's budget would suddenly be available to other promoters if he left Showtime.
HBO's budget continues to shrink. It's being shared by several promoters who are holding on for dear life.
Top Rank is well funded and managed to get a hedge fund, ala Haymon, to finance their new business model. But ESPN is paying Top Rank very little. Top Rank is losing money on every single fight they do on ESPN. The plan, in theory, is that the ESPN exposure will turn their fighters into stars and then Top Rank will make their money back when they launch a subscription service in conjunction with ESPN. Remains to be seen if it works.
PBC could have easily set up their own Boxing TV Channel a couple of years ago when they had limitless funds and a big stable of star fighters.
Probably. But this thread is not about that.
It's about a boxing channel, based in North America, that covers everything boxing.
Not just PBC fighters or everything PBC, Showtime, etc.
It's a channel that talks about past, present, upcoming fights, meaning, it promotes all fights for free.
And since there's already HBO, SHO, ESPN,
such network might pick up fights from Europe and everywhere else.
Am surprised that this idea (Boxnation) only came to frutition over here like 4/5 years ago. I think having a boxing channel with take off massively, considering the demographics, population etc Its a no brainer if you are looking at it from the outside, but maybe there are things that we don't know about that isn't all positive about it.
PBC could have easily set up their own Boxing TV Channel a couple of years ago when they had limitless funds and a big stable of star fighters.
It does cost a lot of money to set up a TV Channel in HD, pay for a studio with a cast and crew to film the fights and announce on them.
We're talking at least $20 Million just for starters and then the Fight Fee's for the Boxers on top of that.
You would also start with zero subscribers and have have to spend $10 Million just on Marketing your brand and trying to bring in New Subs.
You would lose money for the first 5 years, no matter how quickly you grow.
Long term though, there's huge benefits for you to have your own channel and not have to deal with one of the big tv companies like HBO, SHOWTIME, CBS or FOX.
I don't know honestly. There are channels dedicated to far more niche hobbies or things then boxing. I've wondered why no one has started one yet.
The UFC gots Fight Pass & is making ~$4M a month for the UFC. The WWE Network has been around a lil longer & is making ~$12M a month. And looking at rumored BoxNation numbers it looks like they are probably making ~$2M a month. Idk how much you need to start such a network or to maintain it so idk what the profit would look like, but it seems like a long time profitable move & if you are making $24M-$144M a year I'd assume you gotta be in profit or will be shortly.
Am surprised that this idea (Boxnation) only came to frutition over here like 4/5 years ago. I think having a boxing channel with take off massively, considering the demographics, population etc Its a no brainer if you are looking at it from the outside, but maybe there are things that we don't know about that isn't all positive about it.
I think Setanta Sports failing is what opened the door. They showed a lot of boxing and that attracted a lot of subs. But they bit off more than they could chew trying to compete buying Premier League football rights.
Yeah that was another factor as well, Setanta went into administration in 2009 I think, I actually didn’t mind Setanta as well it was decent. The main factor was Sky cutting their Boxing budget though, that’s what forced Warren into creating his own channel
Man I wish we had something like that.
Have like thousands of tv channels on all sorts of random stupid **** and still end up just watching boxing content on YouTube most of the time
Boxing is god-forsaken sport.
You hardly see mainstream sports media cover it,
unless it's paid advertising.
A dedicated boxing channel would gladly cover promoting any fight from any competing network. SHO/HBO/ESPN would in return gladly allow airing their promotional materials on such channel for free.
I've always said if I win the lottery I am gonna start this, the WBN, World Boxing Network. If there can be a golf channel, an NHL Network and a NASCAR channel and ****, boxing can do it. The problem is that there's no unified body to put it under, where all the team sports have a league that runs it. But still, boxing has the advantage of having no off-season, there are fight all year round. Even if HBO and Showtime etc showed all the big fights, you could still show a ton of mid-tier cards and fights from all over the world on the network. Throw in pre and post fight coverage to big events, talk show type stuff like First Take on ESPN, documentaries, classic fights and live shows with boxers in studio you could easily fill in the rest of the time with stuff boxing fans would want to watch. Like I said, it's my first order of business if I win the lotto, so everybody root for me to get rich :lol1:
Nobody knows exactly how much it would cost to start a new tv channel.
There are literally thousands and thousands of channels around the globe, which include many from third-world countries.
It's mind-boggling to think that there hasn't been anyone that thought of coming up with a boxing channel in the US or Canada.
Would be nice to see news about upcoming fights, press-cons, weigh-ins, developing fights, etc.
It's a disgrace mainstream sports channels never cover such things as if it's a sport that is non-existent.
Man I wish we had something like that.
Have like thousands of tv channels on all sorts of random stupid **** and still end up just watching boxing content on YouTube most of the time
I've always said if I win the lottery I am gonna start this, the WBN, World Boxing Network. If there can be a golf channel, an NHL Network and a NASCAR channel and ****, boxing can do it. The problem is that there's no unified body to put it under, where all the team sports have a league that runs it. But still, boxing has the advantage of having no off-season, there are fight all year round. Even if HBO and Showtime etc showed all the big fights, you could still show a ton of mid-tier cards and fights from all over the world on the network. Throw in pre and post fight coverage to big events, talk show type stuff like First Take on ESPN, documentaries, classic fights and live shows with boxers in studio you could easily fill in the rest of the time with stuff boxing fans would want to watch. Like I said, it's my first order of business if I win the lotto, so everybody root for me to get rich :lol1:
Does this prove boxing is 10x popular in the UK on a consistent basis?
It proves that the powers that be have lobbied to maintain thier stranglehold on the fighters in the states.
Just happens that BN is owned by one of the big power players in the UK.
Just wish Eddie and fwank would make up, and wish the FCC would allow BN to be sold on open US market.
Does this prove boxing is 10x popular in the UK on a consistent basis?
It’s because back in late 2011 Sky we’re going to basically pull the plug on Boxing as a star product in their portfolio. It’s reputation was pretty low over here, Haye and Hearn had hurt the credibility with Haye-Harrison fiasco on PPV and then Haye made it even worse with toe gate in the Klitschko fight.
At the time Sky had several promoters on the channel, Warren, Matchroom, Hatton and also the odd Maloney card would be shown. Out of these Warren had by far the biggest stable and with Sky making cuts he realised he couldn’t fulfill his obligations to his fighters on Sky anymore. So along with Rainham Steel, Frank launched Boxnation as a independent boxing subscription channel, Frank actually lost a lot of money out of his own pocket on this venture. I give Warren a lot of props for this cause it shows he genuinely cares about the sport.
As Sky now had some legitimate competition, Barney Francis decided to re-invest back into boxing. With Hatton going through some well documented personal problems and Maloney having gender issues, Sky turned to Hearn as their lead promoter and he’s eventually become the exclusive promoter to the channel, this allowed his stable to grow and boxing is now one the main products on Sky again.
Pretty long winded but hopefully this explains how the channel came about.
British have 24hr boxing channel.
In America, they show girl softball games over Boxing on ESPN. That is how significant boxing is in America.
UK boxing is way bigger
Lol pretty much this.. It's kinda sad
8y ago
Why is there no Boxnation equivalent in America? | BoxingScene Community