The Inconvenient Truth, HBO's Pay-Per-View Madness

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

By Steve Kim - It wasn't too long ago that the president of HBO Sports, Ross Greenburg, stated that his network, after putting on ten pay-per-view events in 2006, vowed that they would go back to putting more of their marquee bouts on their 'Championship Boxing' series. The bottom line, everybody agreed, was that boxing simply doesn't have ten events big enough anymore to go on that particular platform that often. Perhaps the UFC could (and does), but not boxing.

And in 2007, HBO did have a strong rebound year, delivering bouts like Kelly Pavlik-Jermain Taylor and Joe Calzaghe-Mikkel Kessler last fall and limiting themselves to just seven pay-per-view events.

But it looks like Greenburg's promise is right up there with George Bush's (the first one) presidential proclamation of: REEEAAAAD MMMYYY LIPS: NOOOO NEEEEEW TAXES.

Because unfortunately, it looks like that trend was an aberration, as it looks like HBO and its various promotional partners will once again hit double digits in the number of pay-per-view promotions they will stage in 2008. It was once an unwritten rule that for pay-per-views shows to be maximized to their greatest potential, and to not cannibalize each other, that they had to be held about four-to-six weeks apart (or about one billing cycle with your cable/satellite company). [details]

[KING •]

HBO is ****ing up.

I'm cancelling my subscription.

[MANGLER]

This PPV bull**** is gettin ridiculous.

[AntonTheMeh]

this is what i've been saying.**** ppv.

http://www.boxingscene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=195850

[Keithrtw]

Ppv

This article is very misleading. While the age of the fighters headlining PPV is a concern if you look at the PPV numbers from last year it was one the biggest in boxing history. Mayweather-Oscar did the record 2.4 million. Mayweather-Hatton did over 800,000 in the US and 1.5 Million in the UK. Pacquiao's PPV have done solid numbers as well. Cotto-Mosley was another hit. And 2008 started off very good in that Roy Jones and Trinidad did over 500,000 buys squashing the UFc fight on the same night that only did 227,000 buys. Where boxing is starting to come back with solid PPV cards (not always great) UFC is now just doing 1 title fight a PPV. This last one was a great main event Rampage and Griffin but the undercard lacked a title fight (something Dana White criticized boxing for) and the chief undercard was boring as hell, Patrick Cote-Ricarrdo Almeida.

[PrettyBoyFloyd7]

This article is very misleading. While the age of the fighters headlining PPV is a concern if you look at the PPV numbers from last year it was one the biggest in boxing history. Mayweather-Oscar did the record 2.4 million. Mayweather-Hatton did over 800,000 in the US and 1.5 Million in the UK. Pacquiao's PPV have done solid numbers as well. Cotto-Mosley was another hit. And 2008 started off very good in that Roy Jones and Trinidad did over 500,000 buys squashing the UFc fight on the same night that only did 227,000 buys. Where boxing is starting to come back with solid PPV cards (not always great) UFC is now just doing 1 title fight a PPV. This last one was a great main event Rampage and Griffin but the undercard lacked a title fight (something Dana White criticized boxing for) and the chief undercard was boring as hell, Patrick Cote-Ricarrdo Almeida.

I will not be buying Casa/Marquez or Mosley/Mayorga...Im going to go to Jones Calzaghe at MSG tho

[neils7147933]

It's too easy to view these bouts in other ways or to watch substitute fights while you wait for the replay to justify all these PPVs.

July 26 is Showtime/CBS's EliteXC card up against Margarito; Oct 11 is Tarver/Dawson up against the Mayorga fight; SopCast exists, etc.

And if you don't have Hatton in the UK, or DLH involved, you're not going to get big numbers guaranteed without a decent undercard... Pacquiao vs. David Diaz doing 200K when Pac is the heir apparent to p4p #1 shows that even die-hard boxing fans have to been discriminating when spending their money...

[PrettyBoyFloyd7]

By Steve Kim - It wasn't too long ago that the president of HBO Sports, Ross Greenburg, stated that his network, after putting on ten pay-per-view events in 2006, vowed that they would go back to putting more of their marquee bouts on their 'Championship Boxing' series. The bottom line, everybody agreed, was that boxing simply doesn't have ten events big enough anymore to go on that particular platform that often. Perhaps the UFC could (and does), but not boxing.

And in 2007, HBO did have a strong rebound year, delivering bouts like Kelly Pavlik-Jermain Taylor and Joe Calzaghe-Mikkel Kessler last fall and limiting themselves to just seven pay-per-view events.

But it looks like Greenburg's promise is right up there with George Bush's (the first one) presidential proclamation of: REEEAAAAD MMMYYY LIPS: NOOOO NEEEEEW TAXES.

Because unfortunately, it looks like that trend was an aberration, as it looks like HBO and its various promotional partners will once again hit double digits in the number of pay-per-view promotions they will stage in 2008. It was once an unwritten rule that for pay-per-views shows to be maximized to their greatest potential, and to not cannibalize each other, that they had to be held about four-to-six weeks apart (or about one billing cycle with your cable/satellite company). [details]

**** hbo!!!!

[oA2o]

Steve Kim is a ******!

[PrettyBoyFloyd7]

Steve Kim is a ******!

suck a fat one