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When Peter Nelson was named the head of HBO Sports, I was not that impressed.
Peter has made his bones behind the scenes, so it was easy to dismiss him when the announcement came down.
I did note however, that Peter explicitly mentioned his intention to work with "all promoters".
In other words, HBO Boxing will be willing to work Al Haymon, and the PBC.
Its not accident that Ken H. resigned as the president of HBO Sports, it clear there was pressure on him to do so.
Ken Hersman's tenure was extremely short lived compared to Ross Greenburg, or Seth Abrams.
He didn't leave, he was pushed out.
I don't know why, but I have a theory.
Ken was not crazy about PBC, and outlawed all business with Al Haymon.
In doing that, he created a serious divide in boxing.
It used to be Top Rank, and Golden Boy.
With the rise of PBC, all the network contracts they have entered into, HBO was faced with a shrinking market.
They could not continue to do business, and ignore the vast stable of fighters that Haymon has at his disposal.
There is simply to many attractive fights to make.
HBO should not be constrained by Golden Boy, and Top Rank lawsuits, thats their problem, and those lawsuits are not going very well.
So why should HBO limit its profitably?
Peter clearly embraces this, he is a classic capitalist.
HBO, and PBC now will work together.
It won't be a time buy, but PBC fighters will show up on HBO.
This opens things up, boxing is going to be awesome.
So many possibilities, perhaps now, everyone can stop crying about PBC, HBO, and this pointless television war that was destroying the sport.
Back to business, finally.
Peter has made his bones behind the scenes, so it was easy to dismiss him when the announcement came down.
I did note however, that Peter explicitly mentioned his intention to work with "all promoters".
In other words, HBO Boxing will be willing to work Al Haymon, and the PBC.
Its not accident that Ken H. resigned as the president of HBO Sports, it clear there was pressure on him to do so.
Ken Hersman's tenure was extremely short lived compared to Ross Greenburg, or Seth Abrams.
He didn't leave, he was pushed out.
I don't know why, but I have a theory.
Ken was not crazy about PBC, and outlawed all business with Al Haymon.
In doing that, he created a serious divide in boxing.
It used to be Top Rank, and Golden Boy.
With the rise of PBC, all the network contracts they have entered into, HBO was faced with a shrinking market.
They could not continue to do business, and ignore the vast stable of fighters that Haymon has at his disposal.
There is simply to many attractive fights to make.
HBO should not be constrained by Golden Boy, and Top Rank lawsuits, thats their problem, and those lawsuits are not going very well.
So why should HBO limit its profitably?
Peter clearly embraces this, he is a classic capitalist.
HBO, and PBC now will work together.
It won't be a time buy, but PBC fighters will show up on HBO.
This opens things up, boxing is going to be awesome.
So many possibilities, perhaps now, everyone can stop crying about PBC, HBO, and this pointless television war that was destroying the sport.
Back to business, finally.
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