Comments Thread For: Paramount Global To Shut Down Showtime Sports; Network Will No Longer Broadcast Boxing

[PRchamp]

Dude this makes absolutely no sense. It’s the low hanging fruit analysis that doesn’t line up with the facts.

The fact is boxing, like horse racing and baseball, just doesn’t occupy the same space it did in the sports landscape.

PBC does nothing with the Olympics. Boxing used to be one of the primary events in the Olympics. It isn’t anymore.

Boxing used to be a staple of network TV long before PBC was created. They left it.

ESPN has boxing but puts most of the fights in ESPN+ and PPV.

PBC deals with Bounce,Spike TV, CBS, NBC and Showtime all ended terrible, Showtime was still dealing with PBC since the Weasel Espinoza is Haymon’s lap dog. Same thing can be said with Top Rank who’s so terrible and ruined strong ties with ESPN. Boxing as a whole could’ve been in a better state but the promoters got greedy thinking they can get away with presenting sub par cards and wanting ridiculous purses for their fighters who nobody even cared about at the end of day.

PBC stink
Top Rank stink
DAZB stink

lets be real as boxing fans their greed killed the sport.

[SUBZER0ED]

What's next, Paramount? You own Boxing Scene too. Are you going to kill it next?

[wrecksracer]

Pirated streams are killing the sport

Boxing was at it's most popular when it aired for free on live TV. PPV is what made it a niche sport. Nobody follows it except for hardcore fans. Even PBC was talking free TV when they started. Now every show is a PPV. Sorry, greedy promoters did this.

[Southpawology]

Say it aint so ! Sad….An end of an Era.

RIP Showtime

RIP HBO

[PRchamp]

been watching boxing since the 80s. HBO, Showtime, ESPN tuesday night fights, USA boxing, ABC wide world of sports, NBC, Spike, BounceTv. Now I guess Amazon prime. It’s a new day so it is what it is. Good thing about it is PBC aint going nowhere. They've had three 100 million dollar fights this year so someone is going to pick them up. I know everyone is saying they're going to Prime but my dream scenario would be Espn. PBC and TR with no more sides of the street on the world leader in sports. Damn I hope that happens.

I would pick them up if they allow the network to pick the fights to get made and not the promoters. Nobody is clamoring to pick up PBC unless they want to get duped. Networks just pay for the big fights. If they want to showcase their typical mismatches, they have to show it on their own PPV model. PBC thrived being parasites, let see them produce their own shows without help from a network

[Toffee]

Then Eddie Hearn came and made it even worse by raising the prices. And now Deontay Wilder, Ruiz, etc. don't want to fight unless they get retirement check.

He tried to reduce prices! He sided with the subscription model... and it's not working. To the point where DAZN went to PPV. The theory behind subscription was more people pay less, more regularly... that was potentially great for us as fans. As things stand it comes down to a small number of fans to subsidise big fights through PPV if they can't generate mass appeal.

The issue is boxing itself. The multi org approach where fighters are kept apart in some instances and can avoid each other in other instances just isn't a good business model.

Boxing could be huge. But it isn't, and it's largely because it's terribly organised.

[jqSide]

At least when HBO closed shop, they have very few fighters relying on them. This time it's a large stable and it remains to be seen if it would still be business as usual like nothing happened.

[Tag, You're Hit]

I suspected since last year that PBC was done because they were hardly putting on any shows. And then 2023 rolls around and practically EVERYTHING is a PPV show. I was ignorant, though, that the money that dried up was Showtime money apparently. And PPV was the only way for them to work it for a little longer.

I gotta say, it has to come down to the "top" fighters demanding ridiculous coin to fight anymore. And the promoters and networks going along with it. Every person and business has a budget to deal with and if the money coming in vs the money going out doesn't make enough sense things have to get cut.

So, maybe this will be a blessing in disguise as fighters purses will finally have to get realistic for the first time in YEARS. The gravy train is GONE. I'm curious to see what network PBC fighters are going to be fighting on next. Honestly, I can see the PBC stable getting thinning dramatically in the coming days.

Hopefully, most of the Showtime Boxing crew goes to a new venue together as I like all those dudes (though I still prefer Paulie over Abner, but Mares ain't bad either).

[Teetotaler69]

Thanks uncle al

[tomhawq]

He tried to reduce prices! He sided with the subscription model... and it's not working. To the point where DAZN went to PPV. The theory behind subscription was more people pay less, more regularly... that was potentially great for us as fans. As things stand it comes down to a small number of fans to subsidise big fights through PPV if they can't generate mass appeal.

The issue is boxing itself. The multi org approach where fighters are kept apart in some instances and can avoid each other in other instances just isn't a good business model.

Boxing could be huge. But it isn't, and it's largely because it's terribly organised.

What I meant was "purses." He made nonsensical offers to boxers for fights that were average on tv ratings. Offers ranging from $7 mil to $15 mil to boxers that would have accepted 7x less of that. Why $7 mil and not $1 mil? Mikey Garcia, for example, got $7 mil for the Vargas fight. How can any platform sustain such extravagance?