Why was the Arreola-Stiverne rematch downgraded to ESPN? (why did HBO lack interest?)

maybe espn offered more money than hbo so they can become bigger players in boxing

 

:deal

And honestly who could really be against that ?

 

HBO Sports suffered budget cutbacks.

Game of Thrones is really, really, really expensive to make. Plus no Floyd PPV revenue.

Also, ESPN is not a downgrade in this case - the match is regular , mainstream, ESPN. Not ESPN2/3/etc like their other boxing programs. BIG difference.

 

I call that an upgrade! U know how many more people get ESPN then HBO!?!?! Cant wait to go to the bar and have them put on the fight :bbb:bbb

 

Really looking forward to this rematch, although I think the result will be the same.

 

Could it be because the fight is not really a world title fight

 

Chris will slim down but I strongly feel like Stiverne has his number:yep

:smoke

 

A very important but overlooked facet: what plays in the bars. So many bars where I am at dont even have HBO (commercial HBO = $$) let alone show boxing.

If the fight is good, having it playing in front of a couple million weekend pub goers is a good start toward getting sports fans converted into boxing fans. Main ESPN is a big deal, especially in regards to Midwest sports bars.

 

Game of Thrones has nothing to do with HBO Sports budget. The past year where they had to pay too much is what hurt the budget for this year. Ward was one of those fighters that were getting paid too much for the type of audience they bring in.

 

Isn't it for the vacant WBC strap?

 

Um, no. Right now HBO views its chief competitor as Netflix, not Showtime. Their main areas of investment are original programming and digital distribution infrastructure. Parent Time Warner and HBO brass focus is on things other than sports, and since budgets arent unlimited - guess what gets squeezed?

Overspending on certain fights only matters in regards to how the Sports division allocates money for subsequent events, ie: how Sports division goes on to manage their own fiefdom.

Not only were HBO programming costs up 12% last year, but they spent considerable sums consolidating Nordic operations, launching Asian streaming operations, etc.

As such HBO sports gets a little less love this year. Probably temporary, because overall revenues are up so HBO sports should get a bump sooner or later. Its just not the corporate focus right now.