Comments Thread For: Welcome To 2022: ShoBox-Level Events On FOX & Fights Fit For Free TV Forced To PPV

[BlakBread904]

I won't be buying this PPV but I will watch. Simply not worth what the fee is. This is an HBO: BAD level card. Finances need to get in line with reality.

[PeepeePoopooMan]

Was part of the fox deal was that only garbage fights would be ppv? Like were pbc not allowed to at least put decent fight cards on ppv?

[jonnyc420]

Who are you talking to, Ivan?

Nope, talking to you. Obviously you are not a fan of the greatest country on Earth. Imagine being such a POS that you hate a man for loving his country. Disgusting.

[OnePunch]

3+ years ago when they made this deal I said publicly that it would likely fail as "elite level" fights are not sustainable on an advertiser supported platform. They just aren't. The event length cannot be guaranteed, thus advertisers are not going to spend big money running spots on a main event that might be over in 5 minutes. It just doesnt work. It works for ESPN or Telemundo level fights, where most viewers really don't care who is fighting, they just want to watch fights. But larger budget fights with specific participants just cant be made on those platforms. The math doesnt work.

Anyways, of course I was called a hater, and jealous, and racist, and everything else, just for pointing out the obvious.

And now here we are........

[MPA2000]

Nope, talking to you. Obviously you are not a fan of the greatest country on Earth. Imagine being such a POS that you hate a man for loving his country. Disgusting.

I can't understand your bad English, Ivan. Get a better Russian to English translator.

[TonyRespectful]

DAZN looking like a real good deal this year ! I'm a happy customer!

[factsarenice]

It's a shame. I think what you are seeing are a couple factors happening at the same time: the economic realities of pandemic, the fact that boxing is a niche and the fighters still wanting the same purses.

it's funny, I see NSB posters gloating and cheering as PBC, FOX, Matchroom or DAZN falter... but they are oblivious to the fact, as boxing fans, they are just squabbling dinosaurs while the meteor comes streaking down to impact.

HBO is out, Showtime still around (probably because of Espinoza) but not as prevalent, FOX's quality is diminishing and poor quality PPVs increasing, DAZN has less content and hinting at PPV. Im not sure how much long ESPN will be committed. Unless something changes, the sport will be pushed to the margins and the price point will increase for us to watch an increasingly inferior product.

I see boxing's future being relegated to apps, probably where we are provided mediocre content for a basic fee and required to purchase anything better a la carte PPV (similar to FiteTV).

A the root source of the problem are the network exclusive contracts. The big players, Arum, Al and Eddie use their monopolistic access as a choke point to serve themselves, first and foremost.

I also agree that boxing, just like everything else, will move more rapidly to App driven access.

[factsarenice]

Fox is just a symptom of a bigger problem. The real problem are the network exclusive contracts that allow Arum, Al and Eddie to use their monopolistic access to choke off competition just to line their pockets.

The fact that a legend like Lou Dibella can't get a fighter like Regis Progais a fight is an example of the disproportionate power a few men hold over the entire sport of Boxing.

Boxing is losing it's appeal because it has moved away from competitive sports and into the realm of hype and theater.

[BoxingIsGreat]

First of all, how many fighters have went to court to sue Al Haymon, or the promoters working with PBC, due to contractual disagreements, i.e. Mikey, Canelo, Terence Crawford? Boxing on network TV was DEAD before PBC! It's dead again, because they do not want to pay boxers! Their only model is PPV, i.e. FOX! Lastly, boxing fans are spoiled! We had Fury vs. Wilder 3, fights for Undisputed @ 140, 154, and 168, all in the same year! Still, all we do is complain about what we're not getting! The only way to stop PPVs are to STOP PAYING FOR THEM! That's not on FOX, that's on us!

Well said. I think I figured out why they have these meaningless PPVs. Neither Haymon nor the networks are losing money on anything. It's on the fighters: to each according to what they can create. So, I can see Thurman-Barrios not generating much, therefore their check will be tiny. Fighters are too spoiled and everyone is called a superstar these days.

[sicko]

Once I seen FOX, Corp mentioned that Boxing PPV was profitable in their Annual Report I warned people that more PPV's was likely coming

They're using Boxing to build up their Digital Platform it seems, not sure how it works and how flopping PPV's are profitable to them but somehow it is which is why they're rolling out more in 2022 unfortunately for some of us. So if we want more big fights for free then it will indeed take a Network to make a major investment into the sport with a huge budget allowing Boxing to give us everything for Free like how the NFL does and I don't see that happening