Is Channel 5 a viable way to get boxing back on Terrestrial TV ?

itll set a good benchmark for whether terrestrial channels will find putting boxing on tv worthwhile in the future. it ll come down what it always comes down to:

ratings and money

 

It needs good advertising and hopefully channel 5 will bring that. Boxing is usually on of a Saturday night, this clashes with people going out on the ****. Its also usually on at about 10pm till 12 pm this clashes with MOTD, so again a tough one to go against. I personally couldn't give a **** about going to town or football so I will be watching!

 

they need evenishly matched fights to keep the fans intrested imo

 

I'd like it to be, it may not be the BBC or ITV but channel 5 would give boxings profile a much needed shot in the arm. I can't see it working out though, the boxing promoters took their fights to Sky because they were paying more than the terrstrial channels. Now if ITV couldn't pay enough to keep boxing I can't see channel 5 managing it, unless they strike a deal with one of the promoters largely ignored by Sky (like Henessey, though he's lost most of his roster now) to provide shows for a minimal fee in return for the exposure driving ticket sales.

 

The great thing is, you couldnt ask for a better man than Fury to get the average joe tuning in. Big mouth but funny with it, represents England AND Ireland, is a 6 ft 10 heavyweight boxer(I know he isnt that tall but it seems as the years go on the media add another inch to his height year by year) & most importantly, he has the big 0.

A dream catch for 5 if Fury can back up his boasts.

 

i think the trick is to go on a fight by fight basis. if they see a good match up that would get good figures on a night, dont block buy a bunch of fights off one promoter

 

if they did it on a fight by fight ,there is no long term incentive for the promotor and would find it hard to retain there fighters if they dont have a long term deal

 

I've often wondered why BBC & ITV dont pick up the smaller shows & put them on their sister channels (ITV 3/4, BBC 3/4 red button, iplayer) Fearon & Hennessy cards would be perfect for this format

If channel 5 pick up the ball & run with it then I hope they do well & get decent numbers. Chisora-Fury is a great start & if Joe Casual can watch for free then perhaps we could see a return to the days of decent boxing on terrestrial tv.

Another thing I'd love to see is more amateur boxing, esp ABA final & international competitions.

 

depends if Five publicise it...most people have digital so being on terrestial is not really a big deal, especially if it's only on Five...

 

Obviously it's a start but as someone mentioned it seems to only be feasible for the Hennessy/Fearon level of fighter (and hopefully soon Maloney). What figures can you expect though? Anything approaching the 2mil mark for channel 5 is successful, but it won't get close to the Froch vs Pascal levels me thinks.

 

They need to promote the **** out of it, it's got a good story, two young undefeated fighters who are usually in entertaining fights, and then it might do good numbers. Unfortunately this is Hennessey we're talking about