Comments Thread For: Agitated Arum: HBO, Showtime Don't Own the Boxing Business!

[Eff Pandas]

Those who can't remember the past are doomed to repeat it.

All you said are risks, streaming only amplifies it because it is a new medium and boxing fans are not the most open to new ways of doing things.

Yea but that's not the bet Arum or any promoter agreeing to a streaming deal would be making. The streaming provider is the one putting money up hoping for boxing (& other content covering every genre of entertainment) to get the numbers it needs to hit for it to make sense for how much the streaming provider paid the promoter.

The promoter doesn't have anymore skin in the game than they do when HBO or whoever pays them to put together a card. The issue for a promoter after a deal is made is about balancing your expenses to make your profit needs attainable + maximize the gate or any other sources of revenue you have your toe dipped into just like its always been.

Arum or any promoter would just be getting money from a company that wants boxing content & putting on a show like they've always done. Arum or any promoter ultimately shouldn't care if HBO, Netflix, Showtime, PBC, UniMas or whoever lives or dies as long as there is still someone out there willing to pay them money to provide boxing content.

That's not to say that its not better to be affiliated with a certain content providers cuz obviously there are levels to this and a deal with HBO right now is superior to a deal with CBS Sports for example, but at the end of the day a promoters loyalty should be focused on the maximize money they can get from whoever is willing to pay it & who lives or dies beyond that isn't of much concern.

Some of it is being forced on Arum but if he wants to be in the business he needs to deal with it and weather the storm that change brings. If he can come out on the other side he can come out way ahead, but getting to the other side is not easy and to think he won't suffer any pain for shifting his operation is very optimistic. Arum for damn sure is considering every downside risk that such a decision will bring.

Staying with HBO carries risk as well. Go back to the sinking ship scenario. You are on a slowly sinking ship, help is supposed to arrive soon before the boat will sink at the current rate but the water is cold enough that you will die if in it for any amount of time. There are also strong currents and none of the life boats have survival supplies. Do you wait on the sinking ship hoping it doesn't get worse because help may arrive, or do you get in a life boat that may get pushed far away and never get saved. You have two options neither are good because you decided to take a bargain basement boat trip, so past decision come into play in giving you these two risky options.

Yea I can't argue with too much here, but this is always in play to varying degrees. So its an accepted risk already in any promoters life to whatever height he's made it to in the sport.

But I don't even think its necessarily like a try to sail away on a bs life boat or wait for help situation cuz I think Arum can do both. It could very well be he could have a relationship with HBO for his bigger names & have a relationship for his smaller names with a streaming network just like he had a deal with HBO & TruTV not long ago.

Its not really a either or situation. And honestly to me it seems like HBO is already leading Arum into that sorta relationship with how they didn't pick up that last Oscar Valdez fight that screamed HBO to me.

[The Gambler1981]

Yea but that's not the bet Arum or any promoter agreeing to a streaming deal would be making. The streaming provider is the one putting money up hoping for boxing (& other content covering every genre of entertainment) to get the numbers it needs to hit for it to make sense for how much the streaming provider paid the promoter.

The promoter doesn't have anymore skin in the game than they do when HBO or whoever pays them to put together a card. The issue for a promoter after a deal is made is about balancing your expenses to make your profit needs attainable + maximize the gate or any other sources of revenue you have your toe dipped into just like its always been.

Arum or any promoter would just be getting money from a company that wants boxing content & putting on a show like they've always done. Arum or any promoter ultimately shouldn't care if HBO, Netflix, Showtime, PBC, UniMas or whoever lives or dies as long as there is still someone out there willing to pay them money to provide boxing content.

That's not to say that its not better to be affiliated with a certain content providers cuz obviously there are levels to this and a deal with HBO right now is superior to a deal with CBS Sports for example, but at the end of the day a promoters loyalty should be focused on the maximize money they can get from whoever is willing to pay it & who lives or dies beyond that isn't of much concern.



Yea I can't argue with too much here, but this is always in play to varying degrees. So its an accepted risk already in any promoters life to whatever height he's made it to in the sport.

But I don't even think its necessarily like a try to sail away on a bs life boat or wait for help situation cuz I think Arum can do both. It could very well be he could have a relationship with HBO for his bigger names & have a relationship for his smaller names with a streaming network just like he had a deal with HBO & TruTV not long ago.

Its not really a either or situation. And honestly to me it seems like HBO is already leading Arum into that sorta relationship with how they didn't pick up that last Oscar Valdez fight that screamed HBO to me.

Well honestly Arum is not the type of guy to mess around he is either going to go all the way in or be all the way out.

Now if it is a smaller deal that is mainly dealing with getting his prospects and unknowns on some kind of medium I think he can easily swallow any costs associated with that because he was never expecting to make much money on those cards on the first place they are about building for the future. I could question the sort of eyeballs they will draw but some are certainly better than none. HBO wouldn't care at all about that. However, if he takes his big guys away HBO probably won't be so quick to take them back unless GBP screws the pooch and in that scenario they may just walk away from the sport rather than rebuild.

To actually make it be a major play with his main guys I think Arum is going to have to pay out a lot and while he will get something for his product obviously it is not going to be a huge windfall and it will be on Arum to deal with the difference either out of his pocket or finding some way to increase revenue.

You don't want to be on the sinking ship but once there you have choices to make. Maybe you were smart enough to check out the lifeboats before hand and knew they didn't have supplies making sure to grab some water and crackers before leaving. Arum is a smart guy so it is possible he changes the equation figuring out a way to tilt things in his favor, or as I would call that an "Arum Special".

Like I said I am interested to see how he plays this and how it works out for him. I just want to see what it really is, because I have no faith in the word of Arum even if I know he has to make a move of some form.

[HAMMER77777]

]I wouldn't suggest there shouldn't be a TV option for what its worth. [/U]I just think there should be more options that fit in with a younger audience. And don't worry there are gonna be TV's for awhile to come (cable is the thing that needs to worry). We already got the smart TV's that are internet capable for the cord cutters who prefer the TV experience from standard size to the 68+ inch screens & those are probably just gonna get more advanced & easier to use for less tech savvy people.

So you'll still be able to view things like you wanna view them. Primarily the streaming technology just spreads out your ability to watch things more often via a wider variety of devices.

I also believe streaming to simply be a superior technology over broadcast TV that is gonna beat out an inferior technology like happens all the time.

For example with regular TV they are sending out a signal & you are just able to watch what everyone else is watching. With streaming I'm in a 1 on 1 interface with the streaming provider that can allow me to make for a more interactive experience which can have me enjoying sports (or movies, tv shows or whatever I'm watching) more to my liking.

I can basically be a "director" of the event to whatever degree the provider has allowed me to be. For a specific example the UFC has a streaming service already for their own fights & other combat sports. And with there fights you can actually go from corner to corner between rounds to listen to whoever you wanna listen to. I'd love to be able to do that with boxing instead of listening to who HBO, Showtime or whoever has decided I should listen to & for how long. I'd also love to be able to turn off the commentators & still have the "sounds" of the fight & the crowd. I'd love to be able to pick my preferred camera angle & all sorts of other options like that. That's what streaming can make a reality for sports fans of any sport.



Honestly I don't hate watching something on a big screen or going to the IMAX or just a regular theater from time to time. I used to be a huggggggge movie nerd back in the day so I've seen plenty of stuff on a obscenely sized TV & on the big screen. I just have a lot less desire & time for random TV/movie viewing these days. And my computer is a fine size for watching fights.



Thanks & yea I actually felt late to the computer party myself. I thought computers were nerd sh^t for the longest time. I started to play poker & got really good at it. Learned people played poker online. Purchased a computer about 9ish years ago & discovered this whole world that exists online & barely been offline since it seems lol.

I guess we don't disagree there, then. I dont have a smart TV (my Tv's are from The 1990's Or Older but they all still work), and I do want to still be able to Watch Boxing. Im sure Boxing will always be on TV at least for the rest of my life. But ya, there will be other ways to Watch as well. I do Stream PPV's, because, frankly, I'm too cheap to spend $50 Bucks LOL. But other than that, I just Watch on the big screen.