How often was boxing televised?

[RINGG]

Here in the U.K. big fights from the USA was shown tape-delayed the following weekend so we had to wait a week to watch the fights like Ali vs Frazier & Ali vs Foreman etc, during the 60s & 70s the BBC had a mid week programme called Sports Night with Coleman which would show `live`domestic fights like Conteh vs Finnigan, Cooper vs Bugner etc as well as tape-delayed fights from the USA of Leonard v Hearns etc, then during the mid 1980s and the arrival of Mike Tyson SKY satellite was founded and they charged PPV to watch Mike Tyson fights with the downside of it being that they aired the Fight on the SKY Movies channel so hard-core boxing fans had to take out the full SKY package of channels to watch Tyson at a huge cost then pay the PPV (£9.99) on top of their subscription... Today i watch all fights `Live`on the internet at a cost of £12 per year which is fantastic value and far superior coverage as well as choice.

Was BBC a channel that showed alot of boxing back then?

[sonnyboyx2]

Was BBC a channel that showed alot of boxing back then?

Yes the BBC showed far more boxing back then than what SKY Sports show today.

[jose_palooka]

''Here in the U.K. big fights from the USA was shown tape''

I am reminded of a comment made by Howard Cosell back in the 70s: that while folks in NYC and LA were the most knowledgeable about boxing, the folks in London came in third.

Cosell was highly controversial because he often he shot his mouth when he should not have done so. But he generally knew his stuff. He rarely had much good to say and I thought his comments about London's boxing fans were very complimentary.

[Holtol]

The 70's and 80's were a great time for me. I remember in the 80's here in the states I would get up Saturday morning look at the guide and figure how I was going to record/watch several shows divided between ABC, NBC and CBS. Add cable shows through out the week like MSG, USA, ESPN, FNN and even BET and Univision. We were getting 10+ shows a week not counting HBO and Showtime. There was ppv, but it was almost all big bouts(unlike now) with big undercards. It was in the 80's I decided to record every bout on tv and it was costly on the ol' vhs tapes! But I miss those days.

yeah those was the days and very much missed

The 50's and into the 80's would have been good times to be a boxing fan. I wonder in ppv is to blame in the decline of boxing more then anything else?

[StarshipTrooper]

The 50's and into the 80's would have been good times to be a boxing fan. I wonder in ppv is to blame in the decline of boxing as much as anything else?

It's a big part of it. Sports develope and maintain their fan-bases by getting people into it when they're kids. Without the fights on free TV anymore kids simply are not exposed the sport in the years when they become fans.

Poet

[Holtol]

It's a big part of it. Sports develope and maintain their fan-bases by getting people into it when they're kids. Without the fights on free TV anymore kids simply are not exposed the sport in the years when they become fans.

Poet

True, I think this explains the decline in great boxers world wide.

[StarshipTrooper]

True, I think this explains the decline in great boxers world wide.

Typically kids become fans first then particpants. Take out the "fan" part and kids generally won't be getting into the sport as participants.

Poet

[StarshipTrooper]

The 50's and into the 80's would have been good times to be a boxing fan. I wonder in ppv is to blame in the decline of boxing more then anything else?

I became a boxing fan in the early 70s watching ABC's "Wide World Of Sports" on Saturday's. If I hadn't had that available to me as a child it's doubtful I would have gotten into the sport. Who knows?

Poet

[Holtol]

I became a boxing fan in the early 70s watching ABC's "Wide World Of Sports" on Saturday's. If I hadn't had that available to me as a child it's doubtful I would have gotten into the sport. Who knows?

Poet

I think your **** on, kids don't play sports that are not t.v for the most part. Hence the reason cricket is played in certain areas, base ball in others, sumo wresting in japan. Boxing is not televised nearly enough anywhere as far as I know. Its just a shame that all the great boxers of the past are not considered as good as current boxers these days by the majority of people.

[StarshipTrooper]

I think your **** on, kids don't play sports that are not t.v for the most part. Hence the reason cricket is played in certain areas, base ball in others, sumo wresting in japan. Boxing is not televised nearly enough anywhere as far as I know. Its just a shame that all the great boxers of the past are sht on these days by the majority of people.

It wasn't just ABC either. Both CBS and NBC had their own Saturday sports shows that regularly had boxing on them. Back when I was a kid you could flick on free TV on Saturdays and see the likes of Duran, Arguello, Cervantes, ect. Think about that: On any given Saturday major title fights featuring the superstars of the sport for FREE. It boggles the mind!

Poet