ESPN to launch August 3rd

^the number of joke PPVs Sky are putting on plus things like this,it pays for itself in no time

 

sky and ESPN are clearly in bed with eachother, this is really sad news for our sport as i can't see them getting a substantial boxing schedule that would attract people who don't have sky as that would be a direct rival in the way setanta was

 

ESPN2 show the boxing in the US don't they?, is this new channel going to be some ******* lovechild creation of their American output plus a few footy games then?

 

Before people get too depressed, remember that ESPN have 46 prem games this season and then just 23 for the following 3 seasons. They are going to have to look at other sports

 

think sky might give them some of their games as they seem be getting on so well.

 

Not sure how long that will last. As soon as a big contract comes up like the Champions League, they'll get competitive

 

not unless espn is just a front for sky and thats why they haven't got any other sports.

but if espn are going it alone than it will be interesting to see who gets the rights to champions league, who knows itv might get outbid by sky or espn,

 

Guys its too early to get too down about this. Yes it is clear that Sky and ESPN are much more like partners than competitors, but that is probably the smarter business model.

I said on another thread that ESPN and Sky (well News Corp, Sky's parent) run a joint venture sports channel in Asia. They know each other.

ESPN only really got in the UK mix when the Prem league pulled the plug on Setanta. It takes time to research markets, organise meetings and do the due diligence and revenue projections, believe me.

That is why we should lobby ESPN just as soon as we can and make sure this Lynn Frank the head of Europe and her people know all about what boxing can bring to ESPNs bottom line and knows about the Bunce campaign.

By the way, high definition boxing is awesome (unless you are watching Big John Mcdermott's gut on the UK leg of Hatton Pac)

 

It isn't a front mate. They may have a good relationship but they aren't together or anything because they wouldn't be allowed the premier league rights

 

thats my point their not allowed the premier league rights so they ask espn to step in as espn are a seperate company.

 

Yeah, I understand what you're saying but

1. that's a risky game to play if they get caught

2. ESPN is part of a BIG company. I don't see why they would play second fiddle to Sky. Sky would of been much better letting the rights for 23 games a season go to say ITV because they're never going to compete for the rest of the games. ESPN, having got their feet wet, will.

 

I happily paid my Setanta subscription, I reckon it was worth it for the amount of good fights they showed. If ESPN do the same I'll sign up, if not then I wont.

 

espn is getting the ufc aswell

 

source?

 

I personally think the UFC figures they get won't be as high as Setanta without Boxing on the channel too. Alot of Boxing fans tune in to watch UFC all the time even though they may not like it half as much.... like me for instance. I know I'm not alone on this aswell. I won't be subscribing without good Boxing coverage, even though I like the UFC.

ESPN are from America, but Boxing in the US isn't as big as in the UK especially the low level of quality ESPN show from there, so I hope they're not ignorant about that fact.