Hearn Approached By Three Broadcasters, Intention is To Extend Deal With Sky

[Ruthless-RKO]

Hearn Approached By Three Broadcasters, Intention is To Extend Deal With Sky

Eddie Hearn says he has had approaches from three broadcasters once his exclusive contract with Sky Sports ends this summer, but he says intention is to negotiate a new deal with Sky.

DAZN and ITV are understood to be among the broadcasters interested in working with Hearn on his UK shows after the Sky deal expires in July. DAZN already has a deal with Hearn covering the United States, Mexico, Italy and Spain, while ITV would raise the prospect of a high-profile terrestrial television showcase, even though it would put big fights on its pay-per-view platform.

Hearn’s Matchroom group have promoted boxing on Sky Sports since the 1990s, when Eddie’s father, Barry, ran the company and Chris Eubank was the headline attraction. But it was in 2012 that Eddie persuaded then Sky Sports managing director Barney Francis to make him their exclusive promoter, squeezing out other promoters Ricky Hatton and Frank Maloney, who both had deals with the network.

“We have got a longstanding relationship with Sky, we are in negotiations with them to extend our deal.,” Hearn said. “We have had three approaches from different broadcasters to try and look at or entertain a longterm deal with them. But we are very happy with where we are.

“We have a fantastic pay-per-view platform, we have a great team of people at Sky who have allowed us to grow and have trust in our vision for the sport, so we will be looking to finalise that over the next 4-6 weeks.

“There is interest from terrestrial TV in boxing and one who can carry a pay-per-view model as well. Everyone knows that DAZN have made a move into the UK in the last couple of weeks with their global platform. And there are a couple of other ones you wouldn’t expect as well.

“We are in a good position but also we appreciate the support of Sky and the relationship we’ve had and the fact that it is very solid. We don’t feel like we need to take a big chance at the moment. We have got a great business and a great position in the market. We will be looking at all situations and making our decision in the next month or so.”

While other offers might be tempting, it seems unlikely that Hearn would willingly walk away from the security Sky provides. Sky Sports is the only broadcaster that has screened boxing without interruption this century and has proved to be a market leader that others have struggled to match.

One of Hearn’s concerns if he walks away would be that a rival promoter could step into his place at Sky, which would effectively give them a foundation to challenge Matchroom.

But renewal at Sky is not necessarily straightforward. Francis, who was a big boxing fan, is no longer at Sky. More importantly, the coronavirus pandemic has had a huge hit on advertising revenue at all broadcasters with all sporting rights fees likely to be hit when new deals are agreed.

Unlike other sports, boxing makes a profit for Sky because it is the only sport that regularly features on their pay-per-view platform and Hearn insists that boxing rights are holding up better than many other sports worldwide.

“Our plan for 2021 is a huge global expansion of the business,” Hearn said. “The interest in boxing from various different genres and broadcasters is very real. There is a lot of aggression for rights in boxing. That shows that people believe in the sport still.

“We have shown that you can make a sustainable TV product behind closed doors.”

Hearn said he often teases his father about boxing’s popularity with broadcasters. Barry is mainly involved in running darts and snooker, which get high viewing figures, but don’t have boxing’s worldwide impact.

“If you look at the viewing figures for the World Darts Championships – the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final were doing over a million a night on Sky,” Hearn said. “Saturday night Fight Night might do 200-300,000. I said to my old man, isn’t it hilarious that boxing is the sexier sport but the numbers on darts are out of control?”

[Ruthless-RKO]

The power of Sky.

Sky Sports News.. even Sky News sometimes.

[mickey1975]

So Eddie admits C5 at least quadruples Sky every time?
Matchroom have built their own platform today, haven’t they?

[Ruthless-RKO]

So Eddie admits C5 at least quadruples Sky every time?
Matchroom have built their own platform today, haven’t they?

I think they’re gonna do more on YouTube as well.

[brian13]

According to Eddie's instagram post (parphased) under the picture of Matchroom Media:

Matchroom media has just been launched, a new media production arm under the Matchroom brand.


Oh I love this news.

[Ruthless-RKO]

According to Eddie's instagram post (parphased) under the picture of Matchroom Media:

Matchroom media has just been launched, a new media production arm under the Matchroom brand.


Oh I love this news.

[maverick23]

So Eddie admits C5 at least quadruples Sky every time?
Matchroom have built their own platform today, haven’t they?

Yes - clearly having a terrestrial partner gets more eyeballs but that doesn’t mean much in terms of subsequent ticket sales, fighters being well known or even advertising revenue nowadays.

They’ve announced their own production arm. Will mean they’re not as reliant on broadcasters for producers, directors and camera operators, they’ll be able to charge more for the shows where they use their own team and they’ll be able create more of their own content.

[margaret thatcher]

oh lawd, just a brilliant brilliant move from edster

[CaptainSpacerod]

I’d love to see more shows on C5, they do a great job

[Frostieballs]

The least subtle attempt ever at trying to give a counter party a fright during negotiations!

[Rezzer1967]

The least subtle attempt ever at trying to give a counter party a fright during negotiations!

Spot on

[Rezzer1967]

I have no doubt that Dazn are interested and possibly ITV but I'd be flabbergasted if he went anyway other than Sky.

[Alba]

Warren at one point had Khan on Itv, plus the undercards and other fighters on Sky.So it can be done with a terrestrial and satellite deals

He could maybe have some of his newer fighters on the ITV, With them progressing to Sky after certain amount of fights/ title level ... I don't know what the line would be but limited exposure on itv wouldn't do any harm to sky figures

[maverick23]

Warren at one point had Khan on Itv, plus the undercards and other fighters on Sky.So it can be done with a terrestrial and satellite deals

He could maybe have some of his newer fighters on the ITV, With them progressing to Sky after certain amount of fights/ title level ... I don't know what the line would be but limited exposure on itv wouldn't do any harm to sky figures

ITV won’t be too happy with that though just having the newer fighters who then go on to Sky when they have the big fights.

I’d imagine it’d be very difficult managing it between 2 separate broadcast partners and keeping both happy.

Al Haymon tries it with Showtime and Fox but I’m not sure how successful it is.

[garethhop]

The lack of name boxers that Sky are able to push on a Saturday night Sky Sports show is a massive problem for boxing's general popularity right now outside of PPV (and in my view accounts for quite a lot of the focus on female boxing to fill that gap)

Warrington and Benn possibly the only two?

Plenty of friends of mine who watch boxing fairly regularly have no idea who Josh Kelly, Ted Cheeseman, Laurence Okolie, Zelfa Barrett are, in a way that they knew exactly who Kell Brook, Carl Frampton, Scott Quigg, Anthony Joshua, Tony Bellew, Anthony Crolla, Carl Froch etc were......

[Ruthless-RKO]

UK Boxing has been going through a transitional period for a few years.
Hearn tried to push certain guys, like Ritson and Cheeseman to the next level (European), but they failed, and other suffered defeats at deomestic level.

[mickey1975]

UK Boxing has been going through a transitional period for a few years.
Hearn tried to push certain guys, like Ritson and Cheeseman to the next level (European), but they failed, and other suffered defeats at deomestic level.

Everyone they tried to showcase has been beaten up. The good fighters sent to America for a beating. It’s like Edward knew he was jumping ship.

[Counter-puncher]

The lack of name boxers that Sky are able to push on a Saturday night Sky Sports show is a massive problem for boxing's general popularity right now outside of PPV (and in my view accounts for quite a lot of the focus on female boxing to fill that gap)

Warrington and Benn possibly the only two?

Plenty of friends of mine who watch boxing fairly regularly have no idea who Josh Kelly, Ted Cheeseman, Laurence Okolie, Zelfa Barrett are, in a way that they knew exactly who Kell Brook, Carl Frampton, Scott Quigg, Anthony Joshua, Tony Bellew, Anthony Crolla, Carl Froch etc were......

if you have 'plenty' of mates who knew who Crolla or Quigg were then you're in a real minority IMO

[mickey1975]

The lack of name boxers that Sky are able to push on a Saturday night Sky Sports show is a massive problem for boxing's general popularity right now outside of PPV (and in my view accounts for quite a lot of the focus on female boxing to fill that gap)

Warrington and Benn possibly the only two?

Plenty of friends of mine who watch boxing fairly regularly have no idea who Josh Kelly, Ted Cheeseman, Laurence Okolie, Zelfa Barrett are, in a way that they knew exactly who Kell Brook, Carl Frampton, Scott Quigg, Anthony Joshua, Tony Bellew, Anthony Crolla, Carl Froch etc were......

if you have 'plenty' of mates who knew who Crolla or Quigg were then you're in a real minority IMO

I do. But probably am in the minority.

[maverick23]

The lack of name boxers that Sky are able to push on a Saturday night Sky Sports show is a massive problem for boxing's general popularity right now outside of PPV (and in my view accounts for quite a lot of the focus on female boxing to fill that gap)

Warrington and Benn possibly the only two?

Plenty of friends of mine who watch boxing fairly regularly have no idea who Josh Kelly, Ted Cheeseman, Laurence Okolie, Zelfa Barrett are, in a way that they knew exactly who Kell Brook, Carl Frampton, Scott Quigg, Anthony Joshua, Tony Bellew, Anthony Crolla, Carl Froch etc were......

Yeah - I agree they don’t have many well known boxers who can main event fairly big shows. I’d throw Katie Taylor, Billy Joe, Dereck Chisora (if he comes back on Saturday Fight Night shows) and Buatsi won’t be far away in 6 months or so.

[maverick23]

UK Boxing has been going through a transitional period for a few years.
Hearn tried to push certain guys, like Ritson and Cheeseman to the next level (European), but they failed, and other suffered defeats at deomestic level.

Everyone they tried to showcase has been beaten up. The good fighters sent to America for a beating. It’s like Edward knew he was jumping ship.

Do you genuinely think he’s going to leave Sky?

[garethhop]

Possibly just because I work in the North West but yep, that's the case.

Remember, Crolla was an arena fighter for his final fights and Quigg was a part of that.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Katie Hearn to head new Matchroom Media venture

Matchroom announce the launch of Matchroom Media, a new independent media production arm under the Matchroom brand. Utilizing over 40 years of experience in producing and globally distributing live sporting events – this new division will be home to production of live events, original documentaries and shoulder programming for all broadcast platforms. Matchroom Media will be headed up by current Director of Programming Katie Hearn [sister of Matchroom's Eddie Hearn] ] who has been at the forefront of Matchroom’s TV expansion since 2004. Despite the challenges faced in 2020, Matchroom produced over 800 hours of live original programming and expects that to grow beyond 1,200 hours in 2021. With a twelve-sport calendar, expected to include the champion boxers Anthony Joshua and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, the Professional Darts Corporation, World Snooker and Matchroom multi-sport schedule – the ability to create engaging content is more important than ever.

The latest innovation came in the form of Matchroom.Live, an in-house OTT platform taking advantage of over 13,000 hours of archive footage, whilst also giving a platform for fans around the world to watch Matchroom events live.

Katie Hearn began at Sky Sports in 1996 and became one of the first women to work on the Premiership and International Football production team. Hearn worked as an Associate Producer on Premier League, FA Cup, England International Matches, Pay Per View Football and European Cup football.

Katie Hearn said: “Matchroom has positioned itself at the forefront of creating and delivering original and unique programming to sporting audiences around the world. We’re excited to expand to produce not only more live sport, but engaging new content to support these events and the sportsmen and women that drive them. From outside broadcasts, live streams and shoulder programming, we’re committed to bring global audiences epic sporting moments and the inspiring stories that are behind them.”

Group Managing Director Eddie Hearn commented: “Content has never been more powerful and as we continue our global expansion, in house production of our own live events will help us align the narrative from idea to execution. We plan to assemble the best production team and sharpest talent for our live broadcasts and bring you compelling content and storylines around our 12 sports. We have unique access that will allow us to grow the hype and narrative through powerful shoulder programming and keep the fans and viewers constantly engaged.”

[brian13]

This has nothing to do with broadcasters this venture.

This more to do with Youtube and other social media platforms. The fact Eddie isn't in charge is even better. Hopefully, this means the end for kugan in terms of the access he has with matchroom now.

[maverick23]

Katie Hearn to head new Matchroom Media venture

Matchroom announce the launch of Matchroom Media, a new independent media production arm under the Matchroom brand. Utilizing over 40 years of experience in producing and globally distributing live sporting events – this new division will be home to production of live events, original documentaries and shoulder programming for all broadcast platforms. Matchroom Media will be headed up by current Director of Programming Katie Hearn [sister of Matchroom's Eddie Hearn] ] who has been at the forefront of Matchroom’s TV expansion since 2004. Despite the challenges faced in 2020, Matchroom produced over 800 hours of live original programming and expects that to grow beyond 1,200 hours in 2021. With a twelve-sport calendar, expected to include the champion boxers Anthony Joshua and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, the Professional Darts Corporation, World Snooker and Matchroom multi-sport schedule – the ability to create engaging content is more important than ever.

The latest innovation came in the form of Matchroom.Live, an in-house OTT platform taking advantage of over 13,000 hours of archive footage, whilst also giving a platform for fans around the world to watch Matchroom events live.

Katie Hearn began at Sky Sports in 1996 and became one of the first women to work on the Premiership and International Football production team. Hearn worked as an Associate Producer on Premier League, FA Cup, England International Matches, Pay Per View Football and European Cup football.

Katie Hearn said: “Matchroom has positioned itself at the forefront of creating and delivering original and unique programming to sporting audiences around the world. We’re excited to expand to produce not only more live sport, but engaging new content to support these events and the sportsmen and women that drive them. From outside broadcasts, live streams and shoulder programming, we’re committed to bring global audiences epic sporting moments and the inspiring stories that are behind them.”

Group Managing Director Eddie Hearn commented: “Content has never been more powerful and as we continue our global expansion, in house production of our own live events will help us align the narrative from idea to execution. We plan to assemble the best production team and sharpest talent for our live broadcasts and bring you compelling content and storylines around our 12 sports. We have unique access that will allow us to grow the hype and narrative through powerful shoulder programming and keep the fans and viewers constantly engaged.”

I think of the things they’ve been trying to do is monetise their old content. I follow 9-ball pool and short Matchroom’s videos are always popping up on Facebook (with adverts in between) and on YouTube. I guess it makes sense given the amount of content they must have.