Tweet
by David P. Greisman - “Premiere Boxing Champions” was never going to change the sport overnight.
What this past weekend instead brought was the beginning of a venture. If Al Haymon’s time buys on NBC, CBS and multiple cable channels are going to work, then the shows will need to make money from advertisers and sponsors. To do that, “PBC” will need to grow boxing back beyond the niche sport it has become in the United States, attracting an audience beyond the current group of hardcore and casual followers.
And so the PBC debut brought a lot to unpack — not only with Keith Thurman’s decision win over Robert Guerrero in the main event and Adrien Broner’s easy points victory over John Molina Jr. in the co-feature — but also with how the broadcast looked and unfolded.
There are some conclusions that can be reached after this past Saturday’s broadcast, while it is too soon to speculate about many more topics. We need to see how this goes in order to have a firmer grasp on where and how far it can go.
Here, then, is a deconstruction of the debut via a sometimes sardonic, sometimes analytic review. With a nod to syndicated columnist Norman Chad, I took notes:
8:32 p.m. Eastern Time: Al Michaels introduces the broadcast, soon telling viewers that Premiere Boxing Champions will have “less of an emphasis on jockeying for belts and more of a focus on competitive fights.” [Click Here To Read More]
What this past weekend instead brought was the beginning of a venture. If Al Haymon’s time buys on NBC, CBS and multiple cable channels are going to work, then the shows will need to make money from advertisers and sponsors. To do that, “PBC” will need to grow boxing back beyond the niche sport it has become in the United States, attracting an audience beyond the current group of hardcore and casual followers.
And so the PBC debut brought a lot to unpack — not only with Keith Thurman’s decision win over Robert Guerrero in the main event and Adrien Broner’s easy points victory over John Molina Jr. in the co-feature — but also with how the broadcast looked and unfolded.
There are some conclusions that can be reached after this past Saturday’s broadcast, while it is too soon to speculate about many more topics. We need to see how this goes in order to have a firmer grasp on where and how far it can go.
Here, then, is a deconstruction of the debut via a sometimes sardonic, sometimes analytic review. With a nod to syndicated columnist Norman Chad, I took notes:
8:32 p.m. Eastern Time: Al Michaels introduces the broadcast, soon telling viewers that Premiere Boxing Champions will have “less of an emphasis on jockeying for belts and more of a focus on competitive fights.” [Click Here To Read More]
Comment