marvelous article about the current state of HBO Boxing

Great article. :good

 

yea good read

 

:good Thanks!

 

It was a very good article. In particular, the parts about how HBO overpays for its fights.
The promoters need to be taken to task a little more though. You have Bob Arum talking about how HBO puts on way too many PPVs. Fair enough, but as much I love watching Cotto and Pac-Man, their fights against, for example, Judah and Diaz are not PPV-worthy. I have a hard time believing that HBO is twisting Arum's arm to make those fights PPV.

 

:good Agreed, everyone is accountable, not just HBO. Too much politics involved, thats the real downfall, the right fights arent geting made for reason X or Y etc And lets face it, alot of the **** being chucked at Golden Boy is because everyone elses nests are not getting feathered at the moment to the same degree...like schaefer said "Step up" Brilliant article

 

The problem, as the article aptly indicates, is that there are convincing accounts of how PPV fights are more profitable for both parties, i.e., HBO and the promoter, in the short run. While the plans that have been proposed have the potential to increase future value, many parties are too risk averse to forgo current revenue in order to invest that way.

If one were to look at the sort of business model that the industry, as a whole, is pursuing now and applied it to a more typical market, the problems would be much more readily apparent. Boxing is booming financially in the short run, despite its lack of mainstream popularity. However, it is doing this largely by cannibalizing its buyer base. Instead of attempting to maximize future value by reinvesting revenue into development of fighters and expansion of the fanbase, it is milking the current, die hard types for all they are worth.

I'm unsure what to think of the prospect of GBP monopolizing the industry, which is only really foreseeable after Bob Arum dies (assuming Top Rank does not have a smooth transition), but it could do some very good things for the sport. As it stands, the promoters may be in a prisoner's dilemma insofar as it would be in their collective interest to forgo the PPV fights and take current losses in order to more widely expose their product. However, if one promoter does this, the others may outearn him and secure more television dates in the immediate present. This not only puts them at a more secure financial vantage, but also may attract young talent to them who are also interested in the short-term (they are more justifiably so given the duration of their careers). If GBP can come along and control an overwhelming portion of the market, they may come to hold the leverage and wield it in a manner that HBO used to.

Just a few rants there.

 

Great article.

 

Thanks for sharing:good

 

Excellent read. Everyone here should read this.

 

edit

 

There really isn't any surprise with the relati0nship w/ HBO and GBP. That tight knit relationship will only be beneficial towards GBP and his fighters. Us fans will just get the finger...

 

i dunno, last year was ****ing amazing i nterms of fights that were made and made by HBO. This year isnt even over yet and this article is talking ****. What the ****? so oscar gets paid to have sparring seesions, since when is this new to anyone?

 

Superb article!

 

No surprise here.

HBO is a subscription based almost entirely in the USA. The article opens with Larry Holmes vs Mike Tyson of all fights. Two very recognized AMERICAN heavyweights.

If your demographic consists of Americans then you need to be showing the fights that will interest Americans. This is why Gatti did so well for the network. This is also why DLH, who was branded as an East LA American boy did well for the network.

And it's also why Lennox Lewis, Joe Calzaghe, Ricky Hatton and a slew of other popular European/Latin/Asian boxers did shitty on the network.