Sky boxing

[iwz678]

gutted, and sky wonder why people go on the internet looking for streams?

[leforge]

gutted, and sky wonder why people go on the internet looking for streams?

Surely use the US tv feed have few people in studio in UK. It cant cost that much?

[bruthead]

If Sky can't afford their to mount their own broadcasts of fights like Alvarez-Hatton or Cotto-Mayorga they should just buy the HBO broadcast. Fans don't care that much who is on the mic, so long as they get to see the fights. All told, given the revenues Sky make off the big boxing PPVs the lack of funds they spend on boxing is pretty disgraceful.

[leforge]

If Sky can't afford their to mount their own broadcasts of fights like Alvarez-Hatton or Cotto-Mayorga they should just buy the HBO broadcast. Fans don't care that much who is on the mic, so long as they get to see the fights. All told, given the revenues Sky make off the big boxing PPVs the lack of funds they spend on boxing is pretty disgraceful.

Surely the ppv pot some should be put back into boxing budget!

[chrisfinch]

If Sky can't afford their to mount their own broadcasts of fights like Alvarez-Hatton or Cotto-Mayorga they should just buy the HBO broadcast. Fans don't care that much who is on the mic, so long as they get to see the fights. All told, given the revenues Sky make off the big boxing PPVs the lack of funds they spend on boxing is pretty disgraceful.

You can't 'buy' the HBO broadcasts, you get given the international feed by the promoters. You can either do what Premier do, and just take that straight feed, or do what Sky do, and add their own commentary over the top, and stick some studio footage in. Setanta used to do a mixture of the two, with their own studio, but with the international feed comms. The only reason I can see why Sky can't do this and save a bit of cash is that these commentaries can be very, very ropey. Dave Bontempo and Dick Landis sucked all the life out of the Martinez v Williams knockout.

97% certain Sky won't show Hatton v Alvarez. They don't announce fights they are showing this late-we'd have heard by now if it was on.

At the end of the day live boxing>>>>>>>Ringside any time. I'd imagine a fair, fair amount of boxing fans, both casual and the more hardcore would much rather watch Hatton v Alvarez either live, or delayed on the sunday morning than hour long interviews with Haye and de la Hoya.

[kh82]

i wish sky would just show the feeds if the commentary is so bad mute it,hopefully premier gets to where setanta was but without going bust obviously!

[iwz678]

i've seen commentators for some of those feeds and they arent bad, especially when it's a HBO bill. I watch a lot of fights online and the feeds arent terrible, just mix it up like Setanta I say.

I agree that there's barely no chance and SKY will probaly not bother mentioning why they dont have it, just say good luck to Matty and that's it. #badforboxing

[whiskey]

I'd just like to say that Adam is doing absolutely everything that he possibly can to get as much boxing on Sky as he can.

The Ringside specials were all filmed in one exhausting, whistle stop tour of America - In less than a week they got one off shows with Haye in Miami, De La Hoya in L.A. and Hopkins in Philly, plus extensive filming with Amir Khan and some other bits and bobs. They are all big names, the kind that bring in casual fans to watch Ringside, hopefully they'll watch again. I wouldn't expect that the episodes worked out any more expensive than the usual shows. No studio, less editing, less camera men booked, no paid guests.

Regarding the extended teams at the shows, Saturday there was one studio guest, Jamie Moore at ringside and yes, Bob Mee joined the two commentators and I thought he really added something to the presentation. Adam is trying different things out, something that Glyn has long been calling for.

The problem is that we get 25 commentators at a tiny little York Hall bill and an American tour...

...Yet Solis vs Klitscko, Judah vs Mabuza, Lucian Bute, and so forth aren't on.

It's to be expected people are miffed. We want to watch fights not talk about them.

There's a like an It-crowd of second rate British fighters than Sky break their neck over and Froch and the Yank fights go by the wayside. Sod the minnow fights every week, give us something proper.

[leforge]

I'd just like to say that Adam is doing absolutely everything that he possibly can to get as much boxing on Sky as he can.

The Ringside specials were all filmed in one exhausting, whistle stop tour of America - In less than a week they got one off shows with Haye in Miami, De La Hoya in L.A. and Hopkins in Philly, plus extensive filming with Amir Khan and some other bits and bobs. They are all big names, the kind that bring in casual fans to watch Ringside, hopefully they'll watch again. I wouldn't expect that the episodes worked out any more expensive than the usual shows. No studio, less editing, less camera men booked, no paid guests.

Regarding the extended teams at the shows, Saturday there was one studio guest, Jamie Moore at ringside and yes, Bob Mee joined the two commentators and I thought he really added something to the presentation. Adam is trying different things out, something that Glyn has long been calling for.

Exactly proper fights. The trouble is Sky are keen to show second rate shit I fed up with no top quality overseas boxing. Adam Smith a prick IMO he need to improve the product but has not done one good thing since he been in charge 9 man commentary team who cares. Change the presenter of saturday fight nights Dave CLarke is useless, he awful at darts too.

At the moment I think Adam SMith reign will be shit as boxing has not improved. I going to go stream for this weekend. I gutted can't get premier on virgin it's showing better fights than sky.

The problem is that we get 25 commentators at a tiny little York Hall bill and an American tour...

...Yet Solis vs Klitscko, Judah vs Mabuza, Lucian Bute, and so forth aren't on.

It's to be expected people are miffed. We want to watch fights not talk about them.

There's a like an It-crowd of second rate British fighters than Sky break their neck over and Froch and the Yank fights go by the wayside. Sod the minnow fights every week, give us something proper.

[whiskey]

Sorry if it comes across as harsh Ed, we appreciate the input mate from yourself.

Hey, here's an idea rather than a criticsm:

Why dont you sack off one of the guest slots and do a 15 minute review of the previous weekends fights, a highlight reel must surely be up for grabs for pennies. Its certainly better than nothing and can be shoe horned into your weekly slot with no impact on additional programming.

[bruthead]

You can't 'buy' the HBO broadcasts, you get given the international feed by the promoters.

So Sky can buy whole television series from HBO for Sky Atlantic...but they can't buy the HBO boxing commentary? Yeah, that makes sense. I'm not saying there aren't obstacles to this...but they are hardly big ones.

If Sky were running their boxing coverage rationally they would trim down their UK staff and buy in more pre-existing coverage from the US. For major fights with UK fighters it is probably worth giving the UK perspective but for something like Mayweather-Mosley having Johnny Nelson rather than Emanuel Steward adds no value to the broadcast. On the contrary, generally HBO/Showtime have better presenters than Sky and it must be cheaper to do deals with HBO/Showtime than to pay to send your broadcast teams around the globe.

Generally Sky throw enough cash at sports that they don't have to choose between having quality UK broadcasts and simply getting the initial broadcast rights but Sky Boxing is clearly underfunded. Given that financial situation Sky's boxing coverage would be improved by getting rid of UK staff and spending more on overseas rights. Is Adam Smith gonna do that and tell a bunch of his mates there's no more money in the pot for them, or cut down on his jollies to the US? Of course not...

But would fans prefer to get to see ALL the major US fights at the expense of a bit of razzamatazz and 9-man broadcast teams for minor UK fights? I'm going to say yes.

[chrisfinch]

You can't 'buy' the HBO broadcasts, you get given the international feed by the promoters.

So Sky can buy whole television series from HBO for Sky Atlantic...but they can't buy the HBO boxing commentary? Yeah, that makes sense. I'm not saying there aren't obstacles to this...but they are hardly big ones.

Nope, for most television programmes, HBO own the rights to sell them internationally, but not with boxing, they only own the US rights. Sky have absolutely nothing to do with HBO when buying US fights-they are not HBO's to sell, the entire dealings are done through the promoter, and Sky are given a feed by the promoter. For the vast majority of fights this is the international feed, apart from the rare occasions when one isn't available (Shobox for example) and the host feed is sent.

It is exactly the same as any other sport in the world. When foreign countries want to show the Premier League, they buy them from the Premier League, not Sky, and when Sky want to show the Cricket World Cup, they buy them from the ICC, not ESPN Star Sports. Boxing isn't any different, so it surprises me when people assume it is.

[Glyn Leach]

Regarding the extended teams at the shows, Saturday there was one studio guest, Jamie Moore at ringside and yes, Bob Mee joined the two commentators and I thought he really added something to the presentation. Adam is trying different things out, something that Glyn has long been calling for.

There were still eight people on mic Ed — yourself, Dave darts, Barry Mc, John Rawling, Jim Watt, Bob Mee, Adam and Jamie. By the standards of the vast majority of boxing broadcasts that have taken place in the English speaking world over the last 40 years, that's an excessive number — and wage bill.

I'm certainly all for trying things out, but I seem to have a fundamentally different view to yourselves as to what is required — not surprising given that I am a subscriber and a viewer rather than an employee and presenter.

In my opinion, streamlined, fast-moving fight shows are the way to go — that's a large part of why the UFC has been so successful. Rather than having eight voices, which is cumbersome and confusing, I'd take it down to two or three. At the moment, there is no 'voice of boxing' on TV and there needs to be one, someone the fans can get to know, rely upon and trust as an authoritative opinion on the sport, like Carpenter and Gutteridge once were. Eight presenters per show out of an interchanging cast of perhaps 15 (?, I'm not sure, but Johnny, Spenny, Richie Woodhall, Piper, and the bloke [blokes?] being tried out as commentator and man-at-ringside were not involved in the most recent live show) is confusing for the uncommitted boxing viewer, probably even for the knowledgeable ones. Simple is best IMO. Make it easy for the viewer, make it so that every time they turn on they know what they're going to get.

Familiarity and reliability is key to success in any sales orientated business. This isn't rocket science. You buy a box of cornflakes, you don't want to find rice crispies and coco pops in it every other week.

I'm certainly not writing you lads off. A change was needed and some of the things you have done have been excellent, as I have said before. But these are still early days and there are teething difficulties. The impression I'm getting at the moment, others too – rightly or wrongly – is that the kids have been let loose in the sweetshop. It's hardly surprising that a presenter, if put in charge of a budget for the first time, puts a greater emphasis on presenting and spends accordingly. I did the same in the period where I had to make the transition between writer and editor/owner — I thought that what I did was the most important thing in the world. I did what I wanted, went where I wanted, and often, because I could and I genuinely thought I knew best. Then I grew up and realised that isn't what it's about at all. But it took a good few years before I developed the overview required of one who is in charge of a whole operation. Maybe this is what Adam is going through, he's inexperienced in his new role and what we're seeing might be him growing up in public. I don't know.

But I do think it's very positive that there should be interaction between yourselves and your customers, all of whom want the best for you — because you are the shop window of a sport we all love and if you do well it will be because the sport does well.

[doctorboxing]

It's very poor when SKY can't or won't show a world title fight involving a UK fighter that has featured extensively on SKY of late.

Ringside is good, I really enjoy it, but I would scrap the whole program if it meant freeing up some of the budget to get more fights. I wouldn't bother who was commentating or what the build up was like, as long as fights were shown. US commentary with a small SKY studio to do pre and post-fight analysis from the UK would be all that we would need.

As Glynn's post makes clear there is a lot of room for "slimming down" with SKY's boxing presentation if budgets are tight.

[iwz678]

WBN are saying that Sky are negotiating to show the fight and that it could be announced on ringside tomorrow

[Glyn Leach]

WBN are saying that Sky are negotiating to show the fight and that it could be announced on ringside tomorrow

That would make sense, nice 'exclusive' for Ringside, let's hope so — I'll be gutted if we don't get that card. Is tomorrow's Ringside not going to be an hour devoted to Oscar though, like the 'special' on Haye?

[Scottrf]

That would make sense, nice 'exclusive' for Ringside, let's hope so — I'll be gutted if we don't get that card. Is tomorrow's Ringside not going to be an hour devoted to Oscar though, like the 'special' on Haye?

Yep, doubt they will be announcing anything. We will see.

[jtourettes]

I agree with a lot that has already been stated apart from the possible suggestion that Hatton - Alvarez is a proper fight. Hatton's trading on his brother's name and will probably be splattered within three. Not that I wouldn't like to watch it but I can see why Sky didn't go for it.

[Chris W 1982]

I agree with a lot that has already been stated apart from the possible suggestion that Hatton - Alvarez is a proper fight. Hatton's trading on his brother's name and will probably be splattered within three. Not that I wouldn't like to watch it but I can see why Sky didn't go for it.

I disagree pal.

Great moments are born from great opportunities and this is the biggest opportunity in Hatton's career.

Sky have always been committed to the Hattons no matter who the opponent. To display Matthew against moderate Europeans then bail out once he has a quality title chance leaves me mystified.

Hatton's chances should have nothing to do with Sky's decision, they've shown far worse mismatches. They've showed loyalty to Hatton, they need to maintain it.

[DavidPayne]

So what do you think is the stumbling block....how much Hattons have asked for or is not their call?

[chinny]

On matters broadcasting Chris Finch

[Glyn Leach]

Matthew's always come as part of an existing promotional package in the past — Sky have featured him on Ricky's PPV undercards or more recently Ricky's promotions. This is the first time that Sky will have been asked to pay for Matthew separately, outside of an agreement that is with his brother — Hatton Promotions play only a nominal part in Alvarez-Hatton, which is a Golden Boy show.

[Final round]

Maybe Sky don't want to cough up and promote a fight they expect Hatton to do badly in.

[MightyWarrior]

Well said Glyn in the earlier post. Sky are dressing up the presentation with all the glitz and glamour - 10 bloody presenters - then not showing any effing decent fights. Talk about missing the bloody point - it'd be laughable if it wasn't so tragic. Adam Smith seems intent on shooting himself in both feet and blowing up UK boxing at the same time.

Bloody CLUELESS.

[stujones]

Regarding the feed/international feed. Can we clarify - so sky pay for the international feed, but then elect to fly Smith/Watt/McCory or whoever out there to comment on it?

But do they actually get it cheaper for electing not to use the international feed commentators - Bob Sheridan, Slo Glo man or whoever it is these days. So wouldn't it be cheaper if Sky do what Premier et al do and just play the international feed - rather than pay for a studio, and a bunch of commentators just for a different sound.

When Sky have done mega shows involving two bills in the states - they've often used the international feed commentatory on one of them - the transition is great and feels authentic.