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by David P. Greisman - Floyd Mayweather’s move to Showtime last year was seen as a big victory for the network and a big blow for HBO, which had previously been the longtime home to one of the best boxers around. It was indeed a publicity coup for Showtime, but in reality the supposedly industry-changing announcement was rather a reflection of an industry that had already changed.
Here, briefly, is what I wrote on the subject last year:
“There once was a time that Showtime seemed to settle into the dichotomy of it being second-place to HBO. It was HBO that lured former Showtime fighters over. It was HBO that carried the prestige of being the pinnacle for prizefighters. It was HBO that had the biggest audience and the biggest paychecks. Showtime, meanwhile, marketed itself as catering to the hardcore boxing fans — its philosophy was ‘Great fights. No rights.’
Showtime executive Stephen Espinoza came out swinging, and spending. That was noticeable as more Golden Boy boxers — including some who had been groomed and featured on HBO — appeared on Showtime. There were more tripleheaders and quadrupleheaders. There were preliminary bouts aired on a sister network prior to the main broadcasts. There was the arrival of former ‘Friday Night Fights’ host Brian Kenny, now serving as emcee for Showtime, giving its shows more of a big-event feel.
“Business otherwise continued on as usual for HBO; it still made fights, including some involving Golden Boy and Haymon fighters. What Showtime’s moves did was establish perception as reality. More boxers would jump at the money being offered to fight on that network. More fans would see a need to subscribe not just to one premium cable outlet that airs The Sweet Science, but two. HBO wasn’t just facing a competing programmer, but a competing bidder. A planned rematch between Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto went to Showtime. So did Canelo Alvarez. And so, eventually, did Mayweather.”
Bringing this conversation back to the present means we need to begin with late last week, when the announcement went out that HBO would be airing a fall fight between light heavyweight titleholders Bernard Hopkins and Sergey Kovalev. [Click Here To Read More]
Here, briefly, is what I wrote on the subject last year:
“There once was a time that Showtime seemed to settle into the dichotomy of it being second-place to HBO. It was HBO that lured former Showtime fighters over. It was HBO that carried the prestige of being the pinnacle for prizefighters. It was HBO that had the biggest audience and the biggest paychecks. Showtime, meanwhile, marketed itself as catering to the hardcore boxing fans — its philosophy was ‘Great fights. No rights.’
Showtime executive Stephen Espinoza came out swinging, and spending. That was noticeable as more Golden Boy boxers — including some who had been groomed and featured on HBO — appeared on Showtime. There were more tripleheaders and quadrupleheaders. There were preliminary bouts aired on a sister network prior to the main broadcasts. There was the arrival of former ‘Friday Night Fights’ host Brian Kenny, now serving as emcee for Showtime, giving its shows more of a big-event feel.
“Business otherwise continued on as usual for HBO; it still made fights, including some involving Golden Boy and Haymon fighters. What Showtime’s moves did was establish perception as reality. More boxers would jump at the money being offered to fight on that network. More fans would see a need to subscribe not just to one premium cable outlet that airs The Sweet Science, but two. HBO wasn’t just facing a competing programmer, but a competing bidder. A planned rematch between Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto went to Showtime. So did Canelo Alvarez. And so, eventually, did Mayweather.”
Bringing this conversation back to the present means we need to begin with late last week, when the announcement went out that HBO would be airing a fall fight between light heavyweight titleholders Bernard Hopkins and Sergey Kovalev. [Click Here To Read More]
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