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THE “TV MAN” WANTS A BOXING “STUDIO” SHOW
22 December, 2005 by Lou Ciaccia
TIME HAS COME FOR A NEW WAY TO DELIVER FIGHTS
New York, NY-Nascar has one, as does golf. Even skateboarding has one. The time is right for boxing to have one as well - its own studio show. This comes at the same time our own Pedro Fernandez, is shopping around a pilot. Studio shows have become a ubiquitous part of the sports landscape in the cable/satellite era. The proliferation of the around-the-clock sports networks of the ESPN and Fox Sports families, as well as the part-time sports offerings of networks like TNT, TBS and others, has created the demand for cheap programming fill the in-between hours. Inexpensive to produce, flexible to schedule, and often using already contracted talent, studio shows fit the bill nicely when rounding out a programming lineup.
A STAPLE OF SPORTS COVERAGE FOR DECADES
The major sports have been using studio shows for many years, usually broadcast before or after a live event. In the last several years, many of these productions have become more “must-see” for the fan than the sporting event itself. ESPN’s College Gameday is a phenomenon for college football fans, who show up by the hundreds on location for the live broadcast. If you prefer football of the professional sort, Fox’s NFL Today is an institution for the NFL fan, the most popular of several Sunday NFL studio offerings.
WITH TIVO & VCRS, TIME SLOT WOULDN’T MATTER
But there’s another sort of studio show that caters more to the niche sports. Often appearing in the mornings or late evenings, these shows are usually destination viewing for hard-core fan. Not usually designed for mass appeal, sponsors and advertisers are often specific to that particular sport. While they don’t necessarily expand a sport’s audience greatly, they do serve as a gathering place and common ground for fans who are starved for information, not unlike internet sites.
MONEY MAKING & MARKETING TOO!
And they can be very successful, see Countdown to Signing Day. The live one-hour studio show is directed squarely at the small percentage of college football fans, mainly in the deep south, who are unreasonably obsessed with the recruiting process of high school football prospects. The show appeals to nobody else at all, yet it is now the longest running show on Fox Sports South, currently in its 16th season.
A GEORGE MICHAEL “SPORTS MACHINE” TYPE FIGHT SHOW
The time is right for boxing to get its own studio show. With boxing normally off the radar of the mainstream sports news shows, fans are desperate for media coverage. And it is needed now more than ever before. While Friday Night Fights features a well-received studio element to it, a more comprehensive show is warranted.
GET OUT BOTH THE HIGHLIGHTS & THE STENCH
As I envision it, the show would be heavily highlight-based. On one hand, you have significant European and Asian fighters who most American fans have never laid eyes on. Boxing junkies have been touting fighters like Mikkel Kessler and Arthur Abraham, and yet most fans wouldn’t recognize them if they bumped into them in the street.
HEAVYWEIGHTS HAVE CHARACTERS, BUT NO CHARACTER!
In addition, important fights featuring well-known North America-based fighters, including two 2005 heavyweight title fights, have been taking place outside American airwaves. Almost nobody saw a single second of Lamon Brewster’s stirring come-from-behind “double” knockout of Luan Krasniqi. The WBA title is now held by a Russian giant Nicolay Valuev, who is more of a legend than a fact to those of us in the Western Hemisphere.
TOO MANY UNTELEVISED FIGHTS LEAVE FANS IN DARK
Finally, many of tomorrow’s stars are fighting time and time again off of television, especially with ESPN’s fall hiatus for Friday Night Fights and the still limited availability of some of the Spanish-language networks. And while it’s true that guys like John Duddy, Juan Urango, or Joel Julio probably do not yet deserve to have every one of their fights televised, being able to see highlights of their wins is going to build up fan interest much more quickly.
“RING TALK” PILOT HAS ALL THIS & MORE!
In addition to news and highlights, you would have an in-depth interview segment, probably to hype an upcoming card or cover a major boxing story. Finally, wrap it up with a roundtable discussion of fight personalities and journalists, and you have a very easy 30-minute program every week. An hour wouldn’t be out of the question.
EVERYBODY WINS IN THIS “WIN-WIN” FORMAT
Such a show would benefit so many parties, it almost has to happen. The network that airs the show, assuming it is one of the networks that feature boxing, would be able to promote their upcoming boxing programming throughout the show. They would have no problems aquiring highlight footage I would imagine, because it is in every promoter and network’s interest to build up a fighter’s reputation. All the boxing television networks would reap the rewards of free coverage.
WOULD HELP PROMOTE “GLOBAL” EVENTS
How much easier would it be to generate interest in a Jeff Lacy - Mikkel Kessler or a Jermain Taylor- Arthur Abraham fight if these foreign opponents had reputations that preceded them across the ocean? The smaller promoters would benefit as well, as their shows would feature guys we’ve seen scoring knockouts in televised highlights.
BOXERS NEED TO BE KNOWN BY NAME!
The fighters of course would benefit from increased exposure, and more opportunity to be showcased and/or interviewed for fight fans. The ability to define one’s personality in an interview or feature is a big part of marketability for a fighter.
NEW NETWORKS ARE POPPING UP AS WELL!
There is no downside, as long a sponsor or advertisers can be found. And with the unique penetration of the Latino market offered by boxing, I would think that the relatively small sponsorship needed to launch such an endeavor could be raised. So how about it? What better do you have to do at 11:30 PM on a Thursday night than watch “This Week Between the Ropes” or “Ring Talk,” the television show?
Lou Ciaccia
THE “TV MAN” WANTS A BOXING “STUDIO” SHOW
22 December, 2005 by Lou Ciaccia
TIME HAS COME FOR A NEW WAY TO DELIVER FIGHTS
New York, NY-Nascar has one, as does golf. Even skateboarding has one. The time is right for boxing to have one as well - its own studio show. This comes at the same time our own Pedro Fernandez, is shopping around a pilot. Studio shows have become a ubiquitous part of the sports landscape in the cable/satellite era. The proliferation of the around-the-clock sports networks of the ESPN and Fox Sports families, as well as the part-time sports offerings of networks like TNT, TBS and others, has created the demand for cheap programming fill the in-between hours. Inexpensive to produce, flexible to schedule, and often using already contracted talent, studio shows fit the bill nicely when rounding out a programming lineup.
A STAPLE OF SPORTS COVERAGE FOR DECADES
The major sports have been using studio shows for many years, usually broadcast before or after a live event. In the last several years, many of these productions have become more “must-see” for the fan than the sporting event itself. ESPN’s College Gameday is a phenomenon for college football fans, who show up by the hundreds on location for the live broadcast. If you prefer football of the professional sort, Fox’s NFL Today is an institution for the NFL fan, the most popular of several Sunday NFL studio offerings.
WITH TIVO & VCRS, TIME SLOT WOULDN’T MATTER
But there’s another sort of studio show that caters more to the niche sports. Often appearing in the mornings or late evenings, these shows are usually destination viewing for hard-core fan. Not usually designed for mass appeal, sponsors and advertisers are often specific to that particular sport. While they don’t necessarily expand a sport’s audience greatly, they do serve as a gathering place and common ground for fans who are starved for information, not unlike internet sites.
MONEY MAKING & MARKETING TOO!
And they can be very successful, see Countdown to Signing Day. The live one-hour studio show is directed squarely at the small percentage of college football fans, mainly in the deep south, who are unreasonably obsessed with the recruiting process of high school football prospects. The show appeals to nobody else at all, yet it is now the longest running show on Fox Sports South, currently in its 16th season.
A GEORGE MICHAEL “SPORTS MACHINE” TYPE FIGHT SHOW
The time is right for boxing to get its own studio show. With boxing normally off the radar of the mainstream sports news shows, fans are desperate for media coverage. And it is needed now more than ever before. While Friday Night Fights features a well-received studio element to it, a more comprehensive show is warranted.
GET OUT BOTH THE HIGHLIGHTS & THE STENCH
As I envision it, the show would be heavily highlight-based. On one hand, you have significant European and Asian fighters who most American fans have never laid eyes on. Boxing junkies have been touting fighters like Mikkel Kessler and Arthur Abraham, and yet most fans wouldn’t recognize them if they bumped into them in the street.
HEAVYWEIGHTS HAVE CHARACTERS, BUT NO CHARACTER!
In addition, important fights featuring well-known North America-based fighters, including two 2005 heavyweight title fights, have been taking place outside American airwaves. Almost nobody saw a single second of Lamon Brewster’s stirring come-from-behind “double” knockout of Luan Krasniqi. The WBA title is now held by a Russian giant Nicolay Valuev, who is more of a legend than a fact to those of us in the Western Hemisphere.
TOO MANY UNTELEVISED FIGHTS LEAVE FANS IN DARK
Finally, many of tomorrow’s stars are fighting time and time again off of television, especially with ESPN’s fall hiatus for Friday Night Fights and the still limited availability of some of the Spanish-language networks. And while it’s true that guys like John Duddy, Juan Urango, or Joel Julio probably do not yet deserve to have every one of their fights televised, being able to see highlights of their wins is going to build up fan interest much more quickly.
“RING TALK” PILOT HAS ALL THIS & MORE!
In addition to news and highlights, you would have an in-depth interview segment, probably to hype an upcoming card or cover a major boxing story. Finally, wrap it up with a roundtable discussion of fight personalities and journalists, and you have a very easy 30-minute program every week. An hour wouldn’t be out of the question.
EVERYBODY WINS IN THIS “WIN-WIN” FORMAT
Such a show would benefit so many parties, it almost has to happen. The network that airs the show, assuming it is one of the networks that feature boxing, would be able to promote their upcoming boxing programming throughout the show. They would have no problems aquiring highlight footage I would imagine, because it is in every promoter and network’s interest to build up a fighter’s reputation. All the boxing television networks would reap the rewards of free coverage.
WOULD HELP PROMOTE “GLOBAL” EVENTS
How much easier would it be to generate interest in a Jeff Lacy - Mikkel Kessler or a Jermain Taylor- Arthur Abraham fight if these foreign opponents had reputations that preceded them across the ocean? The smaller promoters would benefit as well, as their shows would feature guys we’ve seen scoring knockouts in televised highlights.
BOXERS NEED TO BE KNOWN BY NAME!
The fighters of course would benefit from increased exposure, and more opportunity to be showcased and/or interviewed for fight fans. The ability to define one’s personality in an interview or feature is a big part of marketability for a fighter.
NEW NETWORKS ARE POPPING UP AS WELL!
There is no downside, as long a sponsor or advertisers can be found. And with the unique penetration of the Latino market offered by boxing, I would think that the relatively small sponsorship needed to launch such an endeavor could be raised. So how about it? What better do you have to do at 11:30 PM on a Thursday night than watch “This Week Between the Ropes” or “Ring Talk,” the television show?
Lou Ciaccia