Comments Thread For: Vargas-Salido Brawl Averaged 833K Viewers on HBO, Peaks at 954K

[Boxing Logic]

What are you smoking? I'm talking about Vargas and Salido not Haymon fighters. So......again what issues with these ratings?

Vargas-Salido had alright ratings for BAD, definitely nothing to complain about. People were talking about PBC's fight on ESPN getting 390k ratings. I thought you were responding to that saying they were good ratings? If you meant Vargas-Salido then that's my bad, I misunderstood. Sorry about that.

[Boxing Logic]

What are you smoking? I'm talking about Vargas and Salido not Haymon fighters. So......again what issues with these ratings?

According to this WSJ article, the NBA average 1.7 Mil viewers on ESPN this year. This number was actually UP 10% from last year.

Are you stating that it is your expectation that a Beterbiev fight on ESPN will average almost 15% MORE viewers than a NBA game and that a 'good number' for boxing on ESPN (3 million viewers) should be 75% more than the average NBA game?

Thanks in advance for your response.

Yes because there are many NBA games every night, and boxing is much more rare. Comparing different sports doesn't get you anywhere. Big college football games get millions and millions, are you saying boxing can't get a fraction of that at 2 million?

All I'm going by is the fact that tuneup fights on HBO still get 800k or 900k, even though they have way less subscribers. So if ESPN has way more subscribers, and is airing the same sport, and the same levels of fights, they should be getting whatever the number HBO gets multiplied by the percentage of homes ESPN is in compared to HBO. Maybe I'm overestimating how many more homes ESPN is in compared to HBO but if not, then I stand by my estimate that they should be getting at least 2 mil for fights on ESPN if they're airing fights with an HBO type of budget.

[North Star]

Decent ratings for Salido and Vargas. I was a bit surprised as these are not casually known fighters at all. I think one of the big reason why HBO stays consistent is that they have a normal formula that they follow, and have been following since the beginning. They will showcase fights, present the viewer with the upcoming schedule, and will devote a little bit of time each broadcast to talk about those upcoming fights. Also, it's one network, so it's easier for a fan to follow and know what the boxing landscape is like throughout the year.

Regarding ESPN, I am not hopeful that they will offer PBC a deal. The ESPN brand itself is losing money and this was one of the big things that were being discussed at Disney. It's basically been operating in the red for to many quarters and Disney is trying too figure out what the hell is going on.

[Sweet Jones]

Yes because there are many NBA games every night, and boxing is much more rare. Comparing different sports doesn't get you anywhere. Big college football games get millions and millions, are you saying boxing can't get a fraction of that at 2 million?

All I'm going by is the fact that tuneup fights on HBO still get 800k or 900k, even though they have way less subscribers. So if ESPN has way more subscribers, and is airing the same sport, and the same levels of fights, they should be getting whatever the number HBO gets multiplied by the percentage of homes ESPN is in compared to HBO. Maybe I'm overestimating how many more homes ESPN is in compared to HBO but if not, then I stand by my estimate that they should be getting at least 2 mil for fights on ESPN if they're airing fights with an HBO type of budget.

ESPN/ABC televised approx. 90 games this year (regular season). And the current TV contract for the NBA (which YOU expect boxing to outperform) average cost is approx. 2.6 BILLION per year (between ESPN/ABC and Turner).

So, using your logic, if PBC could bring in approx. 1.5 to 2 mill viewers on a regular basis to ESPN (say over 30 - 40 broadcasts across ESPN/ABC channels) what is that worth as a property to ESPN/ABC to own exlcusively? What percentage of that annual NBA contract number do you think PBC can rightfully ask for if could bring in similar ratings to the NBA?

Because those are the stakes Haymon is playing for right now.