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I understand that they're trying be the netflix of sports, however, in the US, they don't really have much to offer along with boxing. DAZN isn't getting any of the top US sports on their platform because they're tied up for a few more years and the Networks will continue to shell out money for them. I've looked at what DAZN offers in certain countries and it works for them because they normally wouldn't get to see US based leagues. There have been plenty of complains in Canada about the NFL games being streamed there. Is boxing, Bellator and European soccer enough for US customers to subscribe? I signed up to ESPN+ for the Crawford fight and forgot to cancel, since that fight, I have yet to use ESPN+ again.
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Well, conventional wisdom is that FOX is a time buy so the purses are coming straight from Haymon's pockets as opposed to SHO that will pay big license fees for the fights.
And I'm not talking about FS1. Those are going to be prospect or lower level cards. I'm talking about cards on FOX. Like Berto vs Alexander or Ortiz vs Alexander cards. Instead of that, but on one top level card to show FOX the type of ratings they could get with big name quality fights. Now one can argue they have already put on the likes of Wilder/DSG/etc on FOX, but it's been a while since there has been a good card on FOX. Even when LSC and Mares fought there, it was two mismatches.Comment
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They have not failed, but they are back to depending on Showtime. HBO is floundering. It makes me wonder that if HBO does give up on Boxing over the next year or two, will Showtime follow suit? We never know how the corporations will work out their decisions. Maybe showtime will decide to phase boxing out like HBO is doing as they will not be competing with them for the same segment. Lets remember the only place where HBO and Showtime can profit off boxing is with Pay Per View, and Pay Per View has lost its luster.
There will be changes over the next couple years. We might see PBC branching out to another network. A lot can change. Arum might not even be with ESPN by then.Comment
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The time buys on FOX ended two years ago. PBC buying time was always a short term strategy to get some ratings history. When they landed a paid deal with FOX, they canceled all remaining time buys on every network.
The FOX cards have lesser talent than SHO because FOX pays less than SHO.And I'm not talking about FS1. Those are going to be prospect or lower level cards. I'm talking about cards on FOX. Like Berto vs Alexander or Ortiz vs Alexander cards. Instead of that, but on one top level card to show FOX the type of ratings they could get with big name quality fights. Now one can argue they have already put on the likes of Wilder/DSG/etc on FOX, but it's been a while since there has been a good card on FOX. Even when LSC and Mares fought there, it was two mismatches.Comment
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Showtime is the only network that pays for fights and there for they have the ability to demand stars and better fights. As for why they keep putting on guys coming off losing streaks on FOX I think its a negotiation/investment thing. If Fox isn't putting in any money than its not fair for showtime to have to compete with them to get the best fighters on their network.Comment
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It is simple - not enough good fights.Comment
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That's not true. The time buys ended a long time ago. SHO, CBS, FOX, FS1 and Bounce all pay.
NBC was dropped because they weren't interested in paying for boxing.
ESPN was dropped because they weren't willing to pay much for boxing, although Top Rank did end up swooping in to take the deal PBC had turned down.
It was never going to be realistic to land paid deals with every single network. How successful the PBC experiment was largely comes down to whether FOX is willing to invest more after UFC leaves. We don't know the answer to that yet.Comment
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