Anyone have any idea what’s going on with ITV boxing/PBC? It sounded great at first but overall it’s been underwhelming as a British boxing fan. It seems to have the occasional semi meaningful fight on in the USA which I would watch if it were not for the time. They then announced three British names in Eubank, Joyce & Selby. Decent start. Now Joyce has left to BT. Selby doesn’t look up to much at Lightweight and nothing has been announced for CEJ as of yet. So what is the future of ITV boxing? Could it look to show some shows across Europe at good times for British fans? Will it continue the odd USA show? And how many UK shows a year will it churn out? 2 at most surely with such a thin stable. There did seem to be huge potential with the platform that is yet to be fully utilised, unless Al Haymon has something big up his sleeve. Since it was announced 6 month ago there seems to have been a lack of any clear direction or plan to me.
Sounds like it was a tentative step into the UK market and to make a fight between Eubank and Degale that neither Warren or Hearn would touch as a PPV was an easy way to enter. As Eubank isn’t the biggest of draws in his own right and no other marquee names I can’t see them having any more UK shows unless they are not on PPV. If they did want to enter the UK market properly the best thing they could do is a deal with Cyclone and build cards around Taylor, Selby and Eubank and sign a bunch of decent amateurs. But so far seems much ado about nothing.
It’s dead in terms of UK shows. Joyce already gone as we know, and Eubank has been offered a deal by Warren /BT and I’m guessing Hearn/Sky also.
I know, I would be surprised if it done more than 75,000 ppv buys. Especially when you consider Groves battered Eubank not long prior to their fight and DeGale was clearly past his best going into the fight.
ITV is a bad match for boxing, may have a ton of viewers, but who watches that nonsense they show. You can put on as many adverts as you want, but if you arent hitting the target market its going to fall on deaf ears. Wrestling is a much better fit for ITV. Fake drama, fake tan, **** acting, men in panties for the gays. Its the same as 99% of the rubbish they already show.
As I predicted from the very start of the ITV re-entry into boxing. They didn’t have the Calibre of personnel in charge and they dipped their toe in the water as a result, and made a mess of it. ITV isnt professional in their approach. They also lack the forward thinking to make complex projects like boxing work. Going all in CEJ was a really amateur mistake which 95% of the posters here who are actual boxing fans could have advised them against. Amateur. Fact.
So long as they keep showing the US cards on ITV4 I’m happy. MTK should chase a domestic deal with them- they already film the cards for YouTube and it wouldn’t be a stretch to broadcast them on linear channels.
