FW Press Conference Thursday with all his fighters?

[Old bones Ian]

How many people can you honestly see paying for a dedicated boxing channel?

how many of you would pay say £5.99 a month?

and would you already need to subscribe to Sky sports already?

Also will this mean that Hatton might get more of a Sky deal?

[twenty six]

I don't think it's fair to make any judgements on it, until we all know the specifics.
It could be a revolution for boxing and take it forward, or it could just be another option.
What it certainly does mean is that the owner is in total control - Promotor, Manager, Broadcaster, the lot.

[Lenny]

How will Warren having his own channel get casual boxing fans interested?

His boxers are not going to get the build up they need, it got worse when terrestial TV turned its back on boxing, if Warren has his own channel then pubs and clubs won't show the saturday night fight, as they pay huge amounts already for Sky Sports.

That's what I was trying to say as well

[KOMAN]

How many people can you honestly see paying for a dedicated boxing channel?

how many of you would pay say £5.99 a month?

and would you already need to subscribe to Sky sports already?

Also will this mean that Hatton might get more of a Sky deal?

I have seen this happening for sometime, just surprised it's taken so long really. It'll probably be subscription based, and they will fill in the rest of the time with programmes about boxers and old show's (like they already doing). They may do the 1st one (or part of) freeview, just to drum up interest, as it they get it wrong, the channel won't last long. However that said, I think they will want closer to a tenner a month.

[stujones]

How many people can you honestly see paying for a dedicated boxing channel?

how many of you would pay say £5.99 a month?

and would you already need to subscribe to Sky sports already?

Also will this mean that Hatton might get more of a Sky deal?

It is a strange move, lots of ifs and buts - I guess we will need to wait for the press conference to find out. I cannot help but question why FW is going down this route. Lets not forget that Warren stated on countless occasions that he needed to TV support (on a Saturday night) to get the the big names and also stated how pleased he was to be back on ITV (when he returned) and now he could get the big names..... well this is a completely different move... completely the opposite direction.... A change of thought? or has Bridges been burned?

I cannot imagine Setanta... umm I mean Premier Sports wanting to deal with Sports Network... umm I mean allegedly promotions again.

Did the ringside show highlighting the "big 4" promoters plans for the new season suggest that all is cosy in their relationship. Mick Hennessy has not had a mention on that show I don't think. Perhaps its a sublimentary deal with Sky - we shall see.

[KOMAN]

How many people can you honestly see paying for a dedicated boxing channel?

how many of you would pay say £5.99 a month?

and would you already need to subscribe to Sky sports already?

Also will this mean that Hatton might get more of a Sky deal?

It is a strange move, lots of ifs and buts - I guess we will need to wait for the press conference to find out. I cannot help but question why FW is going down this route. Lets not forget that Warren stated on countless occasions that he needed to TV support (on a Saturday night) to get the the big names and also stated how pleased he was to be back on ITV (when he returned) and now he could get the big names..... well this is a completely different move... completely the opposite direction.... A change of thought? or has Bridges been burned?

I cannot imagine Setanta... umm I mean Premier Sports wanting to deal with Sports Network... umm I mean allegedly promotions again.


Did the ringside show highlighting the "big 4" promoters plans for the new season suggest that all is cosy in their relationship. Mick Hennessy has not had a mention on that show I don't think. Perhaps its a sublimentary deal with Sky - we shall see.

I have seen this happening for sometime, just surprised it's taken so long really. It'll probably be subscription based, and they will fill in the rest of the time with programmes about boxers and old show's (like they already doing). They may do the 1st one (or part of) freeview, just to drum up interest, as it they get it wrong, the channel won't last long. However that said, I think they will want closer to a tenner a month.

[iwz678]

I dont get why this is on allegedly and not normal Sky Sports, Crolla v Limond has been postponed hasnt it and there's a free TV date now?

[Glyn Leach]

How will Warren having his own channel get casual boxing fans interested?

His boxers are not going to get the build up they need, it got worse when terrestial TV turned its back on boxing, if Warren has his own channel then pubs and clubs won't show the saturday night fight, as they pay huge amounts already for Sky Sports.

Be like football matches Sky aren't showing though, pubs could just pick up an internet stream - not great for the network televising the fight but boxing will still get to be seen

[Old bones Ian]

How will Warren having his own channel get casual boxing fans interested?

His boxers are not going to get the build up they need, it got worse when terrestial TV turned its back on boxing, if Warren has his own channel then pubs and clubs won't show the saturday night fight, as they pay huge amounts already for Sky Sports.

Be like football matches Sky aren't showing though, pubs could just pick up an internet stream - not great for the network televising the fight but boxing will still get to be seen

Thats a bit different with the football, as alot of those are beam in from the far east channels. With this boxing it would be a UK based company, so the pubs would probably be open to more effective legal action .

[bripez]

There is a big market out there for boxing and "combat sports".

Problems started when promoters matched their fighters in fights that were not exactly competitive.

This led to a decline in viewers which then led the TV companies to try to increase the quality of fights by focussing on title fights (little did they know ..... certain promoters are very freindly with certain sanctioning bodies - not to mention the emergence of spurious "inter-continental" type titles) and this not only did not work, but the quality of fights actually got worse.

You have also got to look at judging - a whole different topic I know, but how many casual viewers watched the recent Cox fight will tune in again ?

We all know the problems and what needs to be done, but this is not happening. To move to an exlcusive channel (which the viewer will have to pay for - on top of their Sky Sports subscription which is on top of their Sky subscription which is on top of the tv licence fee) is crazy short-termism as this will only further push boxing down as a minority sport.

[smcb80]

£10 per month subscription channel according to Eddie Hearn's twitter

[SAPFO]

£10 per month subscription channel according to Eddie Hearn's twitter

£10 month (£120 per year) for 1 UK stable of fighters matched in 70/30 fights 90% of the time. No thanks. I'll stick to my £30 streaming site where I get all combat & footy inc sat 3pm, all in English, streamed via my PS3 in excellent quality with no lag. direct to my TV

[charlieb]

'Mayweather takes out Ortiz with a sucker punch - but was is legal?"

D'oh!

[themadmariner]

It's fair to say the other promoters on Twitter aren't exactly praising it as a good idea!

That doesn't necessarily prove anything because they could just be worried about the competition, but on this occasion I tend to agree with them.

It certainly will restrict exposure to both the fights and the fighters and I can't imagine thousands of fans paying £10 extra per month on top of everything they already pay for.

[smcb80]

if it was a tenner a month for all boxing, from everywhere, all cards, then it'd be worth it. not to see one promoter's stable. we'll miss out on plenty of fights coming up though - katsidis & burns, clev & bomber to start with

[goldenears]

to be fair we have to see what the plans are and how its going to work - who will be included etc before we make judgements. Maybe it's literally a platform for his PPV like Primetime, but he still works with Sky for a number of bouts in which case it's going to be up to him to deliver top class PPV

[SAPFO]

to be fair we have to see what the plans are and how its going to work - who will be included etc before we make judgements. Maybe it's literally a platform for his PPV like Primetime, but he still works with Sky for a number of bouts in which case it's going to be up to him to deliver top class PPV

If he delivered a top class PPV we would noy be in this mess with Sky scrapping them. Sky won't want his scraps.

[Tommy Gunn13]

He can stick his £10 a month up his arse..Looks like i wont be watching FW fighters...

[crusader]

As far as I know is has always been legal.

[NazNaci1]

Not sure I see him working with other promoters in this venture as he doesn't like sharing, at the best of times. They might broadcast other fights from around the globe but you can bet your last quid that you will have to pay extra, on top of the £10 sub fee, if he does.

Never the most ambitious matchmaker, I don't like the 80-20 or 90-10 odds he usually produces (yes, there have been exceptions, before anyone chews my head off). I can safely say, I wont be paying for it.

[Jon Saxon]

How will Warren having his own channel get casual boxing fans interested?

His boxers are not going to get the build up they need, it got worse when terrestial TV turned its back on boxing, if Warren has his own channel then pubs and clubs won't show the saturday night fight, as they pay huge amounts already for Sky Sports.

Be like football matches Sky aren't showing though, pubs could just pick up an internet stream - not great for the network televising the fight but boxing will still get to be seen

Thats a bit different with the football, as alot of those are beam in from the far east channels. With this boxing it would be a UK based company, so the pubs would probably be open to more effective legal action .

Incorrect.

[Jon Saxon]

Now If he said that he had done a deal with HBO then I would gladly pay for his channel.

[King Tubby]

'Mayweather takes out Ortiz with a sucker punch - but was is legal?"

D'oh!

Ouch. I hope they noticed that before they hit the 'print x thousand' button.

They got away with that one.