Awesome Piece on HBO losing Pacquiao to Showtime by Hauser

[Kevin Malone]

Bob Arum never changes, I don't see how anyone could say such a thing about a person like Arum.

So why didn't he just go with HBO then (like he has the past 5+ years)? Why does he care about the CBS angle? Times and businesses change.

I'm not saying he's some great guy now, these are business decisions. Versus was an even smaller niche network when it had boxing (real bouts not WSB) than it is now. I don't think they even had the NHL then.

Arum's soul isn't going to change, but how he approaches his business does.

[RSBonos]

I didn't. Strikeforce didn't have the roster that top rank does. Strikeforce didn't work at the time cause they didn't have anyone that the public cared about.

This is a WHOLE different animal.

People can't understand that there is MMA outside of the UFC and if there is it surely must be 'minor league'. I mean forget the casuals, the hardcore fans in large part hoped that EliteXC/Strikeforce etc would fail.

Boxing is different, you can promote names. Though i'm really skeptical. How much will promoters invest in these shows? If they do what they usually do then shows on network TV would fail miserably. At least with this deal they will go all out since Pac is the PPV cash cow.

[The Gambler1981]

So why didn't he just go with HBO then (like he has the past 5+ years)? Why does he care about the CBS angle? Times and businesses change.

I'm not saying he's some great guy now, these are business decisions. Versus was an even smaller niche network when it had boxing (real bouts not WSB) than it is now. I don't think they even had the NHL then.

Arum's soul isn't going to change, but how he approaches his business does.

Arum got a great deal from CBS, also media analysts would say it is the wrong time to be so focused on a national network that is pretty old school and their viewership is continually falling.

[warp1432]

Hauser has to be the most biased writer I've pretty much seen. He brings up good points, but its crap most of the time.

However, sources say that Arum’s disenchantment with the leadership at HBO Sports also played into the decision-making process. Arum was angered by what he felt was a tilt by HBO in favor of Golden Boy and Al Haymon. In recent years, HBO has turned down opponents for Kelly Pavlik and Miguel Cotto (two elite Top Rank fighters), who were just as good as the opponents that the network accepted for boxers who were promoted by Golden Boy and managed by Haymon. The maneuvering by HBO that hastened the transit of Floyd Mayweather Jr. from Top Rank to Golden Boy infuriated him. And he was saddened by the fact that no one from HBO attended the memorial service in Seattle in honor of his son, John (who was killed in a mountaineering accident last August)

The bold is full of ****. The only match ups that HBO turned down for Pavlik were Rubio and Mora. At the time, everyone wanted to see Pavlik-Abraham (which HBO would have gladly televised mind you). They also threw Pavlik good money for his fight against Martinez plus they were going to show him vs Williams also. That is until Pavlik pulled out with an injury (not HBOs fault).

The fight for Cotto that wasn't televised was Jennings, but when they showed him against Alfonso Gomez, I didn't see Arum complaining.

Planning for 2011 brought more of the same. Arum suggested putting Yuriorkis Gamboa on a February 26th HBO telecast. Davis told him that HBO was holding that date for a possible fight between Shane Mosley and Andre Berto and asked if Top Rank would schedule Gamboa for March 5th. Arum said yes. Then he read on the Internet that HBO had given the March 5th date to Golden Boy for Saul Alvarez.

What's the problem with this? Gamboa is still fighting on HBO on the 26th of March. Plus it's Arum who is ****ing over the fans by not giving us Lopez-Gamboa. If it's not what Arum wants, he's a crybaby.

Arum told Greenburg that he planned to promote an interim fight for Miguel Cotto (possibly against Vanes Martirosyan) on March 12th and match Cotto against Antonio Margarito in June. Ross said that he wasn’t interested in the first Cotto fight and Arum should do it on his own as an independent pay-per-view show. Then HBO announced that it was holding March 12th for a Sergio Martinez fight (which would cut into Arum’s pay-per-view buys). Davis told Arum, “We didn’t know that you were going on March 12t

Oh boo hoo. HBO gladly welcomed Cotto on their network if they would have fought Martinez. Instead they *****ed out and Cotto-Vanes is an obvious match up for the winner. I'm sure Hausser would have criticzed HBO for paying for this mismatch guaranteed if they had paid for it.

Dziniziruk-Martinez is a solid fight.

2011 looks to be a repeat of the erratic programming that has typified HBO boxing in recent years. A lot has been made of the upcoming bout between Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander. In a vacuum, it’s an intriguing fight. Bradley and Alexander are good young fighters but HBO is spending close to $4,000,000 on the license fee, marketing, and production costs for a fight that most likely will draw a poor rating because only hardcore boxing fans are interested in it. Also, styles make fights and this could turn out to be a boring styles match-up.

HBO is spending 1.2 million on each fighter plus promotion. They promoted Williams-Martinez II heavily and that brought them the second highest rating of the year. People are going to tune into Bradley-Alexander.

Worse, HBO has mortgaged its future to make Bradley-Alexander. Each fighter (in tandem with his respective promoter) has been guaranteed a second fight for a license fee of at least $3,000,000. This means that, unless their first encounter warrants a rematch, three fights involving these two boxers will command almost 25% of HBO’s license fees in 2011.

Not sure if I believe these numbers. Hauser in the past has reported that HBO slashed its boxing budget, but Rafael said those numbers werent true. I'm not sure if Hauser's numbers are always correct.

Next, HBO has to understand that there are issues here that go far beyond one fighter. HBO survived the loss of Mike Tyson to Showtime in 1995 and it will survive the loss of Manny Pacquiao even if he never comes back. The big prize in many people’s eyes is Pacquiao-Mayweather (if it happens). But keep in mind; Mayweather vs. Oscar De La Hoya engendered a record 2,400,000 pay-per-view buys four years ago and HBO Boxing is worse off now than it was then. It would be a mistake for HBO to focus on Mayweather and Pacquiao-Mayweather to the detriment of other fighters and fights. The most constructive thing that HBO Sports can do to get healthy again is to televise more entertaining fights.

I disagree with this. They have been striving for quality match ups since then. Ratings have been up too.

[warp1432]

If there's anything I agree with Hausser is that HBO doesn't do enough marketing and it's good that Showtime is getting on board with doing so. However, it may not pay off for showtime because let's face it: Who really wants to see Pacquiao-Mosley? At the end of the day, people will criticze it for being such a huge mismatch and no one will care. Yes people will buy it, but that's because it's Pacquiao.

All this marketing sounds great, but who knows if it'll lead to bigger things. Props to Top Rank for taking a risk, but don't give us **** with it.

[RSBonos]

The bold is full of ****. The only match ups that HBO turned down for Pavlik were Rubio and Mora. At the time, everyone wanted to see Pavlik-Abraham (which HBO would have gladly televised mind you). They also threw Pavlik good money for his fight against Martinez plus they were going to show him vs Williams also. That is until Pavlik pulled out with an injury (not HBOs fault).

The fight for Cotto that wasn't televised was Jennings, but when they showed him against Alfonso Gomez, I didn't see Arum complaining.

True, and Hauser wrote extensively about how bad Cotto-Gomez and Pavlik-Locket were for the sport. Hypocrite. I get the sense from his articles that he doesn't even like or really know boxing (outside the business stuff), his main focus is to bash HBO.

[check hook]

According to one report, the Arum-Greenburg dinner was civil. Bob told Ross that there were a number of reasons for a move to Showtime and CBS but the primary reason was his desire to give boxing a presence on terrestrial television. He also cited his obligation to Pacquiao and Mosley to maximize their income from the fight. “If it was a question of choosing HBO or Showtime,” Arum said, “I’d choose HBO. But CBS brings an entirely new element into the equation.”

“Then at the end,” the source recounts, “things fell apart. As they were getting ready to leave the restaurant, Bob told Ross what some of his grievances were, including the fact that HBO had played the situation with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a way that was calculated to take Floyd away from Top Rank. Ross said, ‘That wasn’t me; that was Seth [former HBO Sports president Seth Abraham].’ Arum told him, ‘No; that was you. Seth was gone by then.’”

not the first reference to the FMJ/TR situation in the article. Told ya Bob is incredibly bitter about that....he's still holding a grudge.

[check hook]

The more networks involved in boxing the better = increasing audience base.

If HBO is slacking.....then *** them. They need to up their game.

[Check_hooks]

According to one report, the Arum-Greenburg dinner was civil. Bob told Ross that there were a number of reasons for a move to Showtime and CBS but the primary reason was his desire to give boxing a presence on terrestrial television. He also cited his obligation to Pacquiao and Mosley to maximize their income from the fight. “If it was a question of choosing HBO or Showtime,” Arum said, “I’d choose HBO. But CBS brings an entirely new element into the equation.”

thats all you need to know

[JOM'S]

The more networks involved in boxing the better = increasing audience base.

If HBO is slacking.....then *** them. They need to up their game.

I have to agree with you here bro, the more the merrier ....