How good of a marketing tool is HBO's 24/7?

[El Protagonista]

I think it's an excellent show. Most of us watch it, but we're a little more than a "casual" fan. How important is this show for mega fights? I wonder what kind of PPV #s Mike Tyson would have done if he had 24/7. Look at Mike's numbers..

• Mike Tyson vs Evander Holyfield (rematch), June 1997 - 1.99 million PPV buys
  
• Mike Tyson vs Lennox Lewis, June 2002 - 1.97 million PPV buys
  
• Mike Tyson vs Holyfield (1st match), November 1996 - 1.59 million PPV buys
  
• Mike Tyson vs. Peter McNeeley, August 1995 - 1.55 million PPV buys
  
• Mike Tyson vs. Frank Bruno, March 1996 - 1.37 million PPV buys

Imagine if he and Holyfield could have gotten a 24/7. Better yet, imagine Ali vs Frazier or Foreman if they had ppv's back then and a 24/7 series to go with it? Just something I was wondering about.

HBO has done a great job with this show and it's turned guys like Mayweather, Pacquiao, and ODLH into even bigger stars than they already were. Oscar was doing big numbers before 24/7 but I'm sure they would have been even better with a 24/7 series.

[mushahadeen]

How good of a marketing tool is HBO's 24/7?

Pretty good.

[SuckaPunch]

In my opinion, 24/7 as a marketing tool would not have done much for fights as big as Ali/Frazier or Tyson/Holyfield. Literally everyone in America knows those fights are happening, and probably most around the world as well.

However, nowadays when boxing is only a niche sport, 24/7 becomes a very valuable tool to raise awareness amongst the casual fans.

[The Big Dunn]

Its very important. I think 24/7 is like a 4 week miniseries. Each week you need good ratings. You need a charismatic guy to keep people watching. Any Tyson fight it would get great ratings because you never know what Tyson would say or do. Same with floyd.

Its alsso a measure of how much HBO believes in a fighter. It takes big money to produce the show so they won't do it unless the fighter(s) are proven sellers.

[The Big Dunn]

In my opinion, 24/7 as a marketing tool would not have done much for fights as big as Ali/Frazier or Tyson/Holyfield. Literally everyone in America knows those fights are happening, and probably most around the world as well.

However, nowadays when boxing is only a niche sport, 24/7 becomes a very valuable tool to raise awareness amongst the casual fans.

Good point!