Boxing and TV - Part Two - BBC

[dondada]

http://www.britishboxing.net/news_3346- ... o-BBC.html

Comments appreciated.

[bridportboxer]

www.britishboxing.net/news_3346-Boxing- ... o-BBC.html

Comments appreciated.

Really interesting read again, good work.

[black panther]

Cheers for that Ian - nice to hear from the guys at the beeb and their take on boxing. But at the end of the day I feel, minority sport or not, the beeb needs to provide regular coverage of professional boxing if they are to continue to charge licensing fees. Its good they cover the olympics, ABA'S etc. but thats once in a blue moon. Why should I pay to watch BBC television when all I watch is boxing and the bbc has no boxing? But I feel we've crossed this road many a times in discussions and it gets nowhere. But if some of our lads are successful in the olympics and gain public support ala Amir Khan the bbc might just decide to follow his professional progress. But then again big Audley might have scared them off - once bitten twice shy and all that! Bit of cowardly and narrow-minded approach though - why not just learn from the past and next time NOT spend the whole bbc boxing budget on [/i]one fighter before he's even turned professional!

[hitman_hatton1]

hopefully the beeb re-run calzaghe-hopkins next week.

[hitman_hatton1]

But then again big Audley might have scared them off - once bitten twice shy and all that! Bit of cowardly and narrow-minded approach though - why not just learn from the past and next time NOT spend the whole bbc boxing budget on [/i]one fighter before he's even turned professional!

the beeb cocked up bigtime with audley.

i'm not surprised they've learnt there lesson tbh.

[dondada]

Cheers for that Ian - nice to hear from the guys at the beeb and their take on boxing. But at the end of the day I feel, minority sport or not, the beeb needs to provide regular coverage of professional boxing if they are to continue to charge licensing fees. Its good they cover the olympics, ABA'S etc. but thats once in a blue moon. Why should I pay to watch BBC television when all I watch is boxing and the bbc has no boxing? But I feel we've crossed this road many a times in discussions and it gets nowhere. But if some of our lads are successful in the olympics and gain public support ala Amir Khan the bbc might just decide to follow his professional progress. But then again big Audley might have scared them off - once bitten twice shy and all that! Bit of cowardly and narrow-minded approach though - why not just learn from the past and next time NOT spend the whole bbc boxing budget on [/i]one fighter before he's even turned professional!

I just don't know why TV executives don't try and consult some independent people before they make decisions. Most of them don't know a huge amount about boxing and then they wonder why it all goes wrong. And don't employ a consultant who happens to be a professional promoter, FFS.

Re boxing and the Beeb - put yourself in their position. They probably have more than 100 sports wanting coverage and have a responsibility to cover everything they can.

But, like you say, success breeds demand and if we can get a couple of charismatic, good looking or exciting medallists, maybe they will want to cover them a bit more.

Re the ams - I do think it's an absolute disgrace that professional promoters put next to nothing into the amateur side of the sport and then simply whisk the cream from the top.

Paul King and the ABA are trying to develop plans to keep the best on until 2012.

[DavidPayne]

Didn't the beeb have Mike Lewis as a consultant?

[Spud]

Didn't the beeb have Mike Lewis as a consultant?

He was in charge of boxing and had the say what went on and what fights didn't.

Remembered Meaty Mick getting into a number of heated exchanges on the phone to him!!!

My opinion is Lewis did not have a clue.

[Old bones Ian]

I don't hold much hope for any big fights on the BBC by the looks of it.
The last statement by Roger Mosey, Director of BBC Sport , that "As far as covering professional boxing live in the future, we always keep everything under review. We look for the right opportunities and balance it against other sports. The door is always open. "

That just sounds like a standard answer, meaning 'No chance'

Also i don't go along with the sports the BBC focus on are 'National Sports'

so why was i watching the US Masters all last weekend?, that is a complete individual sport, only 1 person can win. and nothing to do with the UK, apart from a golfer might come from these shores. No different from a boxer fighting abroad.
Also i have Bowls, horse riding, touring cars, motorbikes. These are not national sports.

Why can't the BBC just come out and say "Were not interested in pro boxing"

[dondada]

Why can't the BBC just come out and say "Were not interested in pro boxing"

Because I don't believe that's the case, Ian. They have been buying big pro fights shown on delay and we should remember that this is the only way non-satellite viewers will be able to see them.

But, you're right in that decent, live, pro action is probably beyond their horizon at present.

[Old bones Ian]

Why can't the BBC just come out and say "Were not interested in pro boxing"

Because I don't believe that's the case, Ian. They have been buying big pro fights shown on delay and we should remember that this is the only way non-satellite viewers will be able to see them.

But, you're right in that decent, live, pro action is probably beyond their horizon at present.

True, but i remember the days of boxing , when it wasn't just big fights shown on delay from the BBC, whats wrong with them showing British or Euro title fights?
You used to have boxers such as Billy Hardy and Paul Hodkinson shown on a wednesday night after 10pm, shame we cant' get that again with todays boxers

[Old bones Ian]

Why can't the BBC just come out and say "Were not interested in pro boxing"

Because I don't believe that's the case, Ian. They have been buying big pro fights shown on delay and we should remember that this is the only way non-satellite viewers will be able to see them.

But, you're right in that decent, live, pro action is probably beyond their horizon at present.

True, but i remember the days of boxing , when it wasn't just big fights shown on delay from the BBC, whats wrong with them showing British or Euro title fights?
You used to have boxers such as Billy Hardy and Paul Hodkinson shown on a wednesday night after 10pm, shame we cant' get that again with todays boxers

[Chambers2]

"When you are dealing with individual promoters it's hard to get what is desirable and that is a constant story. "

A telling statement IMO


The BBC's naivity when they returned into boxing was unbelievable IMO, firstly they paid Audley £1m (not Auds fault) for his first 10 fights expecting them to be competitive and they also put all of their eggs in the 1 (Audley) basket, they were also unable to back him financially when he was trying to secure the BIGGER fights towards the end of his stint and their shows were getting later and later on the schedule.

OK Audley didn't perform, but they didn't have a robust model for bringing boxing back onto terrestrial TV. I've never heard of Mike Lewis til this thread, but if he was there advisor/consultant then they should be asking for a refund from him.

The Beeb can cover certain areas of boxing such as amateur and delayed reruns and provide a valuable service to British Boxing by bringing the fights to the masses, but they're never going to be able to shell out a fortune (in the same way that Setanta and Sky are) to get the BIG fights staged on their channel.

I think the BBC are interested in Boxing especially considerin British Boxing is in a BOOM period and after Joe won the personality of the year aware, but they just can't fund their interest in boxing in the way they'd like due to the financial restraints and the BBC charter

[harrygreb]

thanks for the article ian. in my view the promoters will have to shift their position for TV to really get interested again.
long term, i think the whole thing needs to get away from the "billy smarts circus" method we have now. there needs to be a closer intermediary - a kind of supremo figure - between the two sides. at the moment the BBC doesnt really understand pro-boxing and vice versa.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Cheers for that Ian - nice to hear from the guys at the beeb and their take on boxing. But at the end of the day I feel, minority sport or not, the beeb needs to provide regular coverage of professional boxing if they are to continue to charge licensing fees. Its good they cover the olympics, ABA'S etc. but thats once in a blue moon. Why should I pay to watch BBC television when all I watch is boxing and the bbc has no boxing? But I feel we've crossed this road many a times in discussions and it gets nowhere. But if some of our lads are successful in the olympics and gain public support ala Amir Khan the bbc might just decide to follow his professional progress. But then again big Audley might have scared them off - once bitten twice shy and all that! Bit of cowardly and narrow-minded approach though - why not just learn from the past and next time NOT spend the whole bbc boxing budget on [/i]one fighter before he's even turned professional!

I just don't know why TV executives don't try and consult some independent people before they make decisions. Most of them don't know a huge amount about boxing and then they wonder why it all goes wrong. And don't employ a consultant who happens to be a professional promoter, FFS.

Re boxing and the Beeb - put yourself in their position. They probably have more than 100 sports wanting coverage and have a responsibility to cover everything they can.

But, like you say, success breeds demand and if we can get a couple of charismatic, good looking or exciting medallists, maybe they will want to cover them a bit more.

Re the ams - I do think it's an absolute disgrace that professional promoters put next to nothing into the amateur side of the sport and then simply whisk the cream from the top.

Paul King and the ABA are trying to develop plans to keep the best on until 2012.

I know it is truly absurd that they think they can negotiate sensible deals with promoters without advice.

With regard to Am and PRO, I think it's about time the two codes were administred by the same body. There was talk of this happening, but I've seen sod all evidence of this happening.

[overhand_right]

Since the mid 90s when they last covered 'normal' boxing, a plethora of complicated fake titles and innumerable European and intercontinental and English spin offs have cropped up and made the sport completely unfollowable.

How do you explain the Derry Matthews WBU champ situation? Hes British level at best.

You cant explain it, you just tell boxing and all its crooked sh#t to fook off.

[dondada]

Since the mid 90s when they last covered 'normal' boxing, a plethora of complicated fake titles and innumerable European and intercontinental and English spin offs have cropped up and made the sport completely unfollowable.

How do you explain the Derry Matthews WBU champ situation? Hes British level at best.

You cant explain it, you just tell boxing and all its crooked sh#t to fook off.

Aye, it absolutely turned my stomach when I read in an online article in the Liverpool Echo 'Mathews goes for second world title' or some such shit.

[jamesmcdonnell]

There's also the problem of greedy/unpredictable fighters and no guarantee of a quality product.

[Old bones Ian]

Cheers for that Ian - nice to hear from the guys at the beeb and their take on boxing. But at the end of the day I feel, minority sport or not, the beeb needs to provide regular coverage of professional boxing if they are to continue to charge licensing fees. Its good they cover the olympics, ABA'S etc. but thats once in a blue moon. Why should I pay to watch BBC television when all I watch is boxing and the bbc has no boxing? But I feel we've crossed this road many a times in discussions and it gets nowhere. But if some of our lads are successful in the olympics and gain public support ala Amir Khan the bbc might just decide to follow his professional progress. But then again big Audley might have scared them off - once bitten twice shy and all that! Bit of cowardly and narrow-minded approach though - why not just learn from the past and next time NOT spend the whole bbc boxing budget on [/i]one fighter before he's even turned professional!

I just don't know why TV executives don't try and consult some independent people before they make decisions. Most of them don't know a huge amount about boxing and then they wonder why it all goes wrong. And don't employ a consultant who happens to be a professional promoter, FFS.

Re boxing and the Beeb - put yourself in their position. They probably have more than 100 sports wanting coverage and have a responsibility to cover everything they can.

But, like you say, success breeds demand and if we can get a couple of charismatic, good looking or exciting medallists, maybe they will want to cover them a bit more.

Re the ams - I do think it's an absolute disgrace that professional promoters put next to nothing into the amateur side of the sport and then simply whisk the cream from the top.

Paul King and the ABA are trying to develop plans to keep the best on until 2012.

I know it is truly absurd that they think they can negotiate sensible deals with promoters without advice.

With regard to Am and PRO, I think it's about time the two codes were administred by the same body. There was talk of this happening, but I've seen sod all evidence of this happening.

With regards to the Pro and Am games, i'm sure there is a Pro/Am card coming up in Wales soon. Obviously they won't be under the same governing body, but it may open up the Pro/Am shows , especially after the Olympics this year.

The BBC may show more interest in these, than just Pro shows.
Can anybody confirm the show coming up in Wales? or did i dream it

[MightyWarrior]

Another good one Ian

He doesn't sound at all interested does he? Very noncommittal, no wonder he's going for the amateur stuff, as it costs nothing and allows them to pay talking heads like Gary Linekar & co a few mill every year.

And delayed showing of big fights likely costs very little too, and usualy runs in the middle of Grandstand with NO advertising. Probably catches a few half asleep footie fans at best.

Think we can forget about boxing on the Beeb, because on the back of some VERY bad ideas, they've forgotten about boxing.

[dondada]

I just don't know why TV executives don't try and consult some independent people before they make decisions. Most of them don't know a huge amount about boxing and then they wonder why it all goes wrong. And don't employ a consultant who happens to be a professional promoter, FFS.

Re boxing and the Beeb - put yourself in their position. They probably have more than 100 sports wanting coverage and have a responsibility to cover everything they can.

But, like you say, success breeds demand and if we can get a couple of charismatic, good looking or exciting medallists, maybe they will want to cover them a bit more.

Re the ams - I do think it's an absolute disgrace that professional promoters put next to nothing into the amateur side of the sport and then simply whisk the cream from the top.

Paul King and the ABA are trying to develop plans to keep the best on until 2012.

I know it is truly absurd that they think they can negotiate sensible deals with promoters without advice.

With regard to Am and PRO, I think it's about time the two codes were administred by the same body. There was talk of this happening, but I've seen sod all evidence of this happening.

With regards to the Pro and Am games, i'm sure there is a Pro/Am card coming up in Wales soon. Obviously they won't be under the same governing body, but it may open up the Pro/Am shows , especially after the Olympics this year.

The BBC may show more interest in these, than just Pro shows.
Can anybody confirm the show coming up in Wales? or did i dream it

There's one at the delightfully named Custard Factory in Birmingham soon. The second one by the promoters in question. Very good value if you just like boxing in general.

They don't do 'joint' shows though as they aren't allowed.

Think they run an Am card first then have a little break then start the pro action.

[stujones]

Cheers for that Ian - nice to hear from the guys at the beeb and their take on boxing. But at the end of the day I feel, minority sport or not, the beeb needs to provide regular coverage of professional boxing if they are to continue to charge licensing fees. Its good they cover the olympics, ABA'S etc. but thats once in a blue moon. Why should I pay to watch BBC television when all I watch is boxing and the bbc has no boxing? But I feel we've crossed this road many a times in discussions and it gets nowhere. But if some of our lads are successful in the olympics and gain public support ala Amir Khan the bbc might just decide to follow his professional progress. But then again big Audley might have scared them off - once bitten twice shy and all that! Bit of cowardly and narrow-minded approach though - why not just learn from the past and next time NOT spend the whole bbc boxing budget on [/i]one fighter before he's even turned professional!

I just don't know why TV executives don't try and consult some independent people before they make decisions. Most of them don't know a huge amount about boxing and then they wonder why it all goes wrong. And don't employ a consultant who happens to be a professional promoter, FFS.

Re boxing and the Beeb - put yourself in their position. They probably have more than 100 sports wanting coverage and have a responsibility to cover everything they can.

But, like you say, success breeds demand and if we can get a couple of charismatic, good looking or exciting medallists, maybe they will want to cover them a bit more.

Re the ams - I do think it's an absolute disgrace that professional promoters put next to nothing into the amateur side of the sport and then simply whisk the cream from the top.

Paul King and the ABA are trying to develop plans to keep the best on until 2012.

What ever happend to Warren's promise of Pro/Am bills before he officially signed Khan.

[dondada]

What ever happend to Warren's promise of Pro/Am bills before he officially signed Khan.

Yes, strange that, isn't it?

[Spud]

I would argue the BBC have entered into discussions with more than one promoter.

Problem is - I would assume the BBC are not offering enough for live shows.

Perhaps what they did with Hennessy Sports and Fight Academy a while back could be a solution - highlighted shows - costs less but at least the promoter is getting some money and more importantly the fans are getting more professional boxing on terrestrial tv.

[Old bones Ian]

What ever happend to Warren's promise of Pro/Am bills before he officially signed Khan.

Yes, strange that, isn't it?

It will be interesting to see if Warren keeps to his promise of not signing any of the amatuers before the London Olympics.
Maybe he will look into the Pro/am shows again, as its not just one star (Khan) , its a whole team of promising british amatuers.