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Main Events Makes Deal With Versus For New Boxing Series, NBC Will Air Some Fights
by Scott Christ on Nov 1, 2011 8:32 PM EDT in Boxing News Analysis
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Scott Heavey - Getty Images
Kathy Duva's Main Events group has worked out a deal for six shows with Versus/NBC next year. (Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images)
Main Events has struck a deal with the Versus network to air a new boxing series, with some fights reportedly set to air on NBC as well. A formal announcement is expected this week, but here's what ESPN's Dan Rafael and MaxBoxing's Steve Kim are saying on Twitter:
From Rafael:
"Versus/Comcast is back in boxing. Closed a deal with Main Events for 6 cards at roughly $100,000 license fees."
"Main Events does have a relationship with NBC (now under Comcast) going back to the brief series it had on NBC a few years ago."
"At $100,000 license fee for Main Events Versus/Comcast cards it gives boxing middle class. More $ than ShoBox/ESPN2, less than HBO/Showtime"
And from Steve Kim:
"Even having boxing back on Versus is huge, they are in a lot of homes. This sport can't just rely on HBO and SHO to grow audience"
"I don't know much more than what I've tweeted about this Main Events/NBC/Versus deal, I know it's been in the works for about 18 months"
I may be a bit less optimistic than some here, because a six-show deal doesn't exactly tell me that Versus/Comcast are really "in it" right now, but hopefully this will all go well and we'll have another regular boxing series. I don't really like any promoter having a series to themselves, because promoters tend to do what makes their guys look best, which results in subpar fights a lot of the time. Hopefully Main Events won't think that small, but if they do, they wouldn't be the first to operate that way in this sort of situation.
We'll have more when there's more to this, which should be sometime this week.
by Scott Christ on Nov 1, 2011 8:32 PM EDT in Boxing News Analysis
0 COMMENTS EMAIL PRINT
Scott Heavey - Getty Images
Kathy Duva's Main Events group has worked out a deal for six shows with Versus/NBC next year. (Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images)
Main Events has struck a deal with the Versus network to air a new boxing series, with some fights reportedly set to air on NBC as well. A formal announcement is expected this week, but here's what ESPN's Dan Rafael and MaxBoxing's Steve Kim are saying on Twitter:
From Rafael:
"Versus/Comcast is back in boxing. Closed a deal with Main Events for 6 cards at roughly $100,000 license fees."
"Main Events does have a relationship with NBC (now under Comcast) going back to the brief series it had on NBC a few years ago."
"At $100,000 license fee for Main Events Versus/Comcast cards it gives boxing middle class. More $ than ShoBox/ESPN2, less than HBO/Showtime"
And from Steve Kim:
"Even having boxing back on Versus is huge, they are in a lot of homes. This sport can't just rely on HBO and SHO to grow audience"
"I don't know much more than what I've tweeted about this Main Events/NBC/Versus deal, I know it's been in the works for about 18 months"
I may be a bit less optimistic than some here, because a six-show deal doesn't exactly tell me that Versus/Comcast are really "in it" right now, but hopefully this will all go well and we'll have another regular boxing series. I don't really like any promoter having a series to themselves, because promoters tend to do what makes their guys look best, which results in subpar fights a lot of the time. Hopefully Main Events won't think that small, but if they do, they wouldn't be the first to operate that way in this sort of situation.
We'll have more when there's more to this, which should be sometime this week.
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