Promoter Eddie Hearn has reflected on the state of the boxing broadcast market following the announcement this week that Showtime will be exiting the sport after more than 37 years.
Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing has an exclusive broadcast deal with digital streaming platform DAZN, while Top Rank has a similar arrangement in place with ESPN+. Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) we tied to Showtime but will now be without a broadcast partner next year.
“The most dangerous thing in boxing is to have a business without a broadcaster,” Hearn said. “PBC have a good brand, so it’s not a guaranteed shoo-in that they can get the TV deal they want, but they have good fighters. But those fighters are probably looking at themselves and saying, ‘Do I need to make sure I’m with a promotional company that actually has a broadcasting deal?’
“For me, I’m always championing the fact that DAZN is the global home of boxing. If they can bring PBC to the platform as well, I’d be over the moon, I’ll be flying, and I think it would be a good acquisition.
“But I’m sure they’re talking to Amazon, and maybe more as well. That’s the big job for PBC now, to make sure they have a broadcaster because if they don’t get the broadcast deal they need, the business can’t survive. But they have a good brand. So, I’m sure they’ll be okay.”
Hearn said that while the news that Showtime would be walking away from the sport was disappointing, it wasn’t entirely unexpected.
“Look, a lot of people don’t get on with people in boxing, but you’ve also got to look at the bigger picture,” Hearn told FightHype. “It’s not great news for boxing. It’s just a sign of the future and a sign of the way content is being distributed and delivered to fight fans and that’s via streaming.
“We saw that a couple of years ago, we made our own move to build those partnerships and those relationships, but boxing will be worse off without Showtime as it was worse off without HBO.
“There’s a lot of people championing Stephen Espinoza losing his job and boxing not being part of [Showtime]. I know we never really got on that well, but he’s done a good job.
“I predicted this two, three years ago and said it’s coming, but one of the reasons why it has lasted so long is because people are stubborn. When I said it a couple of years ago, I knew those discussions were taking place for them to leave boxing, but Stephen did a great job and wouldn’t give in and he fought for boxing.
“He fought for competition as well, but he also believed in the product. One of the reasons why it went on a year or two more than anticipated is because they put on great shows.
“Ironically, the news comes in one of their best years in terms of bigger fights but it’s just the future of the traditional broadcaster that doesn’t lend itself, in my opinion, to the audience anymore.”
