There i was looking forward to the fight later tonight,tried to avoid ESB and now sky sports ****ing news tells me the result and how it went down!! Its a disgrace this wasnt shown live in the uk
Froch/Hennessey are to blame. They must be kicking themselves given the outcome and manner of the victory - It would've won him so many new fans. I doubt he sold 1,000 online PPVs last night, so for the sake of £10,000 they should've just sold the rights for 'nothing' to the BBC or ITV and got 5 million+ viewers. Foolish decision by boxer and promoter.
Well it doesn't matter, because you can watch the fight and just marvel in as duke mckenzie described as rocky II ending because thats what its like. I don't usually like listening to the fights on the radio but the commentry was quality.
No way in hell 5 million plus viewers were gonna stay up until 2 am to watch Froch, and im a big fan.
Yeah true, big exaggeration at that hour but there would have been a hell of alot more viewers than his ridiculous online PPV idea.
But there will be a far greater number for two reruns tonight on ITV, especially with word of mouth spreading about the fight.
But the total number of people watching is not going to be affected by it not being live, so the effect on Froch's future popularity is nil. People who were keen enough to want to watch the fight live were able to do so, but the primetime 'as live' broadcast will be watched by far far more. There's been a lot of comment on the lack of a live TV deal but ultimately getting the fight shown at primetime is a lot more relevant than whether or not there is a live tv broadcast at 3am.
Yeah I agree to an extent. But what would you have preferred? To watch a huge championship fight live on ITV or watch a stream (legal or illegal). My point is more that Froch is trying to build his UK fanbase/popularity and a stubborn/greedy decision by boxer and promoter hasn't helped his ambition(s).
I would have preferred a nice TV broadcast for myself obviously. But, as I stated, the number of people that see the fight is ultimately unaffected, as the 'as live' shows on ITV4 and ITV1 are the ones that they will be watching, so the impact on his future fanbase and popularity is non-existant. In terms of the things you mentioned no live broadcast + primetime terrestrial 'as live' broadcast is actually vastly superior to live broadcast on Setanta or Sky and no terrestrial coverage.
I don't think its 'unaffected' as if ITV were showing it live they would've advertised like they normally do for big fights ie. during primetime Coronation Street-type slots, which would've had a 'and re-run on Sunday at...' disclaimer. More of the general public would've known that the fight was taking place had it been shown live on ITV and as a result more people would've watched the re-run than will do tonight imo. I haven't seen an advert for tonights coverage on ITV1 yet.