Info on Primetime TV

Jack Dempsey · Oct 2, 2009

Where is this channel? I looked for it but couldnt see it

alba · Oct 2, 2009

robpalmer135 said: ↑

Primetime, which did not exist until recently, still has no commentary team in place (although there are plenty of good people to choose from among the 450 employees made redundant in the collapse of Setanta's British outlet), and no commitment to stay in boxing.

Primetime is not a 24-hour-a-day TV station; it is a one-off, pay-per-view exercise. If the numbers add up, execs there say they may stay in boxing. If not, they will fold their tent and leave town.

Ray Mia, a Portland consultant, says: "We want to put on at least one pay-per-view event a month. We're going to see how it goes. The show will be live from 8pm, including the undercard and Arthur Abraham against Jermain Taylor. From 8 October we will be screening Carl's last two fights as well as the reality series, Access All Areas, about the Super Six tournament, which features six of the top 10 super-middleweights in the world."

It is 15 years since Lennox Lewis fought Oliver McCall in London on Wire TV, and was knocked out in the second round. Wire TV disappeared without trace. Lennox recovered to great effect. His friends hope Froch does not have to go through that sort of experience.

The Super Six series is hugely ambitious. Trying to get two fighters into the ring at the same time is tough enough; keeping six of them on their best behaviour over a tournament that is likely to last two years could be a legal and logistical nightmare.

Primetime are up for night one of the Super Six, but they have yet to negotiate coverage of Mikkel Kessler, the favourite, who fights Andre Ward in the third showdown on 17 November.

So this tournament is not yet totally in place for British fans. Without a long-term domestic agreement, Froch will have to negotiate each time to ensure he is seen at home.

Showtime say they are committed to the project and have the participants locked into contracts with penalty clauses to ensure they fulfil their commitments. Froch, I understand, is guaranteed £1m for his round-robin of fights, more if he gets to the final, and will try to pick up money from other outlets along the way which is where Primetime came in.

David McConachie, who has worked with Frank Warren and is the managing director of Queensbury Media, helped set up the deal between Portland TV and Froch. The fighter did not have much bargaining clout, though, given the lack of interest from the BBC, ITV and Sky. He even talked to the new internet site, HattonTV. It is unlikely he will be making a fortune from it.

Apart from all that, though, this is a fight that should be on prime-time British TV. Froch is a genuine world champion, with a real belt. He is a dedicated professional who deserves more than the shoddy treatment he has received over the past six months or so.

His last fight, when he went to Connecticut and knocked out Taylor in the final round in the first defence of his WBC title, was a thriller and that, ludicrously, ended up online.

Showtime, however, loved it, and they will stay in the Carl Froch business as long as he keeps fighting like that. It is a big ask, one that might seriously stretch him, especially against Kessler.

Froch's promoter, Mick Hennessy, a feisty, hardworking type who has beavered away for several years in the shadow of the Franks, Warren and Maloney, talked optimistically the night of the Taylor fight of getting Carl's next defence on a new ITV pay-per-view outlet. It was, he said, the future. It hasn't happened.

Sources tell me there have been tensions in the Froch camp, as he grows more frustrated by the lack of recognition for his ability and with the rebuffs from British TV executives. It is not the way to prepare for a difficult fight against a hungry young prospect such as Dirrell, who is quick and hits very hard.
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you really should credit the gurdian website were you gto that from .:think

Mazallan · Oct 2, 2009

theuppercut said: ↑

In the current uk ppv climate I completely disagree.
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Any any climate it is ****. I will still buy it but it is a very **** situation. Froch vs Abraham oe Kessler is worth the ppv but non of the other super 6 fights are worthy.

GazOC · Oct 2, 2009

theuppercut said: ↑

Like I said the other day, **** this doom and gloom I ain't looking as far ahead as to what they might do in the future I'm just looking forward to two barnstorming fights come Oct 17th!

****, there's less complaining when Khan fights for £14.95 with a diabolical undercard. Remember when Khan v Prescott was ppv atsch
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I don't know about 'doom and gloom', I'm looking forward to the fights as much as anyone but when people were talking about ESPN, and now PrimeTime, saving boxing and putting on all these big fights SOMEBODY has to provide a little realism and balance....and, at the risk of blowing my own trumpet, I havn't been too far off the mark so far.

As for you not looking ahead, its you that mentioned PrimeTime showing Williams-Pavlik and Kessler-Ward, not me.......

Cobbler · Oct 2, 2009

Rob, your OP appears to be copyrighted material that you have stolen wholesale from The Guardian without any acknowledgement or attribution?

theuppercut · Oct 2, 2009

GazOC said: ↑

I don't know about 'doom and gloom', I'm looking forward to the fights as much as anyone but when people were talking about ESPN, and now PrimeTime, saving boxing and putting on all these big fights SOMEBODY has to provide a little realism and balance....and, at the risk of blowing my own trumpet, I havn't been too far off the mark so far.

As for you not looking ahead, its you that mentioned PrimeTime showing Williams-Pavlik and Kessler-Ward, not me.......
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Hmph! I was just looking ahead to great fights not trying to crystal ball everything :bart

theuppercut · Oct 2, 2009

Mazallan said: ↑

Any any climate it is ****. I will still buy it but it is a very **** situation. Froch vs Abraham oe Kessler is worth the ppv but non of the other super 6 fights are worthy.
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Mark my words mate they are going to be two great fights.

theuppercut · Oct 2, 2009

Mazallan said: ↑

Any any climate it is ****. I will still buy it but it is a very **** situation. Froch vs Abraham oe Kessler is worth the ppv but non of the other super 6 fights are worthy.
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Mark my words mate they are going to be two great fights. Much better than any ppv offering of late.

But yes it is a very **** situation.

(Dreaming of Setanta :?)

GazOC · Oct 2, 2009

theuppercut said: ↑

Hmph! I was just looking ahead to great fights not trying to crystal ball everything :bart
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Just shooting the breeze on an Internet forum......

Anyway enjoy your birthday you old ****er!!:good

Losfer_Words · Oct 2, 2009

I predict that Primetime will fail and ESPN will pick up the pieces and save the UK boxing fans.

Someone has to believe it.

theuppercut · Oct 2, 2009

GazOC said: ↑

Just shooting the breeze on an Internet forum......

Anyway enjoy your birthday you old ****er!!:good
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That's the kindest pre-birthday wish I've had old day :shock:

theuppercut · Oct 2, 2009

losfer_words said: ↑

i predict that primetime will fail and espn will pick up the pieces and save the uk boxing fans:d.

someone has to believe it.
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taxi for losfer please!

alba · Oct 2, 2009

Cobbler said: ↑

Rob, your OP appears to be copyrighted material that you have stolen wholesale from The Guardian without any
acknowledgement or attribution?
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its courtesy to at least acknowledge it ,instead of trying to pass it off as yourself :blood

robpalmer135 · Oct 2, 2009

alba said: ↑

its courtesy to at least acknowledge it ,instead of trying to pass it off as yourself :blood
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i never tried to pass it off as myself.

its from a piece by kevin mitchell in the guardian.

GazOC · Oct 2, 2009

It helps everyone if the sources are credited. Its fair on the writer and it helps the reader give context to the article.

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Info on Primetime TV

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Info on Primetime TV

Jack Dempsey Legend Full Member

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