PBC Signs U.S. Media Rights Deal with Prime Video

[Ruthless-RKO]

Prime Video inks U.S. media rights deal with PBC

Prime Video has struck a U.S. media rights agreement with the Premier Boxing Champions promotional company, marking Amazon’s first big foray into the classic sport in America. The deal will start in 2024, and financial terms are unknown, but it’s contracted to run for multiple years. PBC, one of the biggest boxing promoters in the world, had been looking for a new anchor partner as its longtime deal with Showtime Sports is ending after 2023, when Paramount Global will exit the business of combat sports.

Under the agreement with Prime Video, the digital streaming platform will be the main distributor of PBC’s PPV fights in the U.S., though PBC will also still work to have those biggest events aired on linear TV through cable and satellite PPV distributors. But there will now be a PBC Championship Boxing series of non-PPV fights that will air exclusively on Prime Video, and the platform will develop original shoulder programming and docuseries around PBC’s stable of fighters, like Gervonta Davis, Errol Spence and Canelo Alvarez, along with airing fighter weigh-ins, previous events, highlights and archived footage.

Prime Video will air 12-14 fights annually between PPVs and non-PPVs, and the first one is expected in March of 2024. The PPV events that air on Prime Video will be available to buy regardless of if a fan is a Prime subscriber. This marks the first time that Prime Video is airing PPV boxing matches in the U.S., a major development for the sport as it looks to bring new media partners into the fold as the likes of Showtime exit.

Bruce Binkow, a consultant for PBC, helped the boxing promoter set up the partnership, and he said in a prepared statement that with Prime’s “incredible reach and unprecedented marketing power, we’re very excited to reach new audiences for our sport.” Amazon VP/U.S. Sports Content & Partnerships Marie Donoghue added that the addition of PBC “continues to bring viewers in the U.S. and around the world the best in sports.”

A prime subscription currently costs $14.99 per month, and the company is also rolling out an ad-free version in the U.S. for an additional $2.99 per month. Prime Video has about 157 million subscribers in the U.S., according to an Insider Intelligence estimate cited by Reuters in September, which would be the third largest OTT network behind YouTube and Netflix. PBC, which was founded in 2015, is run by the legendary boxing promoter Al Haymon.

[jwfg]

I just hope we get to see the PBC cards in the UK.

[Finkel]

I was just thinking the same thing, but for Japan.
Because something occurred to me, that I often have to explain that we get boxing cards in Japan on Amazon Prime already, means that those same cards aren't being shown on Prime in other territories.
Fingers crossed

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Press Release

Prime Video and Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) announced a landmark, multiyear rights agreement to provide fans with year-round access to the best matchups featuring their large roster of fighters.

PBC features over 150 active fighters across various weight divisions, including top contenders and current world champions. Since its debut in 2015, PBC has presented numerous large events in the sport. IN 2023, the company staged several top pay-per-view events - David Benavidez vs. Caleb Plant, Gervonta “Tank” Davis vs. Ryan Garcia, Errol Spence vs. Terence Crawford, and Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermell Charlo.

For years, PBC was the main content partner of Showtime. In October, it was officially announced that parent company, Paramount Global, was eliminating combat sports from the network by the close of 2023.

Prime Video will distribute PBC’s industry-leading pay-per-view (PPV) events in the U.S, with the first event anticipated for March 2024. PBC PPV fights will be available for all viewers to purchase, regardless of Prime membership.

Additionally, in the U.S. and select countries, Prime Video will exclusively stream a PBC Championship Boxing series of events.

Details on specific cards, dates, and locations will be announced at a later date. In addition to the live PBC events, Prime Video will continue to grow its Original sports content offerings, with behind-the-scenes PBC docuseries, live weigh-ins, as well as on-demand access to previous events, highlights, archival footage, and more.

“We are thrilled to join with Premier Boxing Champions to bring the best boxers in the world to Prime Video, and to give more fans than ever the chance to experience these must-see events,” said Marie Donoghue, VP, U.S. sports content & partnerships, Amazon. “With live coverage of PBC action throughout the calendar year, Prime Video continues to bring viewers in the U.S. and around the world the best in sports.”

“Premier Boxing Champions is very proud to partner with Prime Video to showcase our world-class boxers and events. With Prime’s incredible reach and unprecedented marketing power, we’re very excited to reach new audiences for our sport as we continue to present the most exciting, competitive and biggest fights in Boxing,” said Bruce Binkow, CEO, Integrated Sports, exclusive agency for PBC.

Fans of the sport will be able to watch PBC live at home or on the go, and across hundreds of compatible devices, streaming from the web, or using the Prime Video app on smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes, game consoles, and connected TVs. For a complete list of compatible devices, visit amazon.com/howtostream.

[Monzon83]

Good deal for Haymon. Hopefully Amazon will pressure them to make the fights fans want to see instead of the ones PBC want to see.

[Ruthless-RKO]

UK fans

Additionally, in the U.S. and select countries, Prime Video will exclusively stream a PBC Championship Boxing series of events.

[jwfg]

UK fans

Additionally, in the U.S. and select countries, Prime Video will exclusively stream a PBC Championship Boxing series of events.

[Ruthless-RKO]

UK fans

Additionally, in the U.S. and select countries, Prime Video will exclusively stream a PBC Championship Boxing series of events.

Key word is selective countries..

Let's hope they select UK.

[jwfg]

UK fans

Additionally, in the U.S. and select countries, Prime Video will exclusively stream a PBC Championship Boxing series of events.

Key word is selective countries..

Let's hope they select UK.

If they want to make money, they have to show the fights, no?

[Perseus]

Not seeing the good news here.

12-14 events in a year most of which will be ppv.
The ones that are not ppv will be mismatches.

[Evander]

They're almost all ppv now are they not.

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EDDIE HEARN: PBC AND AMAZON PRIME COLLABORATION IS 'GREAT'

Eddie Hearn has described as “great” rivals Premier Boxing Champions’ broadcast agreement with Amazon Prime.

PBC’s fights and pay-per-views were being shown by Showtime, but the network is withdrawing from boxing by the end of 2023, and the influential promoters, led by the mysterious Al Haymon, will hereafter have a new home.

PBC represent one of Matchroom’s biggest rivals – they tempted the world’s leading fighter Saul “Canelo” Alvarez away from them earlier this year – and Amazon Prime’s investment in boxing could also pose a threat to DAZN, Matchroom’s long-term broadcaster.

“It’s great for boxing,” Hearn, of Matchroom, regardless told ProBox TV. “Whenever a new broadcaster comes in, it shows you how big the sport is – that there’s an interest in the sport. The other broadcasters as well – it gives them a little kick up the arse. It shows you that boxing’s valuable to platforms. So I think, ‘Good’.

“It’s another broadcaster injecting money in the sport. So if PBC don’t get a new broadcaster, or they don’t get a broadcaster with any excitement, if you like, the sport becomes, ‘There’s no investment. There’s no excitement. There’s no aggression, or investment, in boxing’, and we need that. Amazon is a powerful platform; people will say it’s not Fox, but why not? At least they’ve got a broadcaster.

“Of course, whenever you get an opportunity for – particularly – a terrestrial broadcaster in the UK to air sports, it is good for the sport, but what does it actually do? It’s like the Channel 5 numbers. Is that growing the sport? Who are those people? Do they buy tickets? Buy merchandise? Do they engage on social?

“Whenever you can get a bigger number, the better, but it’s who those people actually are. I often wonder. The value of 1.5m on Channel 5 is less than the value of 250,000 paying customers on an app or on a cable subscriber who actually will show a bigger interest in the sport.

“Anyone with a brain knows that streaming is the future of live sports, and that’s why we made that move, what, five years ago, and everybody was laughing at us – PBC included; ‘They’re on an app’ – it’s just the way sport’s going to go.

“[Pay-per-views] will be the entire reason Amazon are getting involved.”

Suggestions persist that PBC could yet also agree to work with what is increasingly commonly referred to as a “linear platform”.

“They may need an additional platform to fund the roster, because one of the problems is they’ve got so many fighters they can’t give them activity,” Hearn continued.

“ESPN are [also] a streaming service. I just think what’s going to happen is people are going to buy apps instead of a traditional cable subscriber, and that was one of the reasons we made the move away from Sky, because I think, in time, a plethora of apps will be a more attractive proposition, and I think Sky will end up being a provider of apps, rather than an acquirer of sports rights.

“The Premier League, obviously, is a big winner – whilst they have the Premier League they’ll remain that way. But in time you’ll see a lot of these apps just existing – you’ve seen it already; Sky carrying those apps – and I think that’ll be the question to the customers. ‘Do you want to pay whatever you’re paying for Sky, or do you want DAZN, Disney+, Netflix, Amazon, whatever, all for less money than your subscription?’”

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Brian Custer, Mauro Ranallo Join Prime Video Boxing Platform

Amazon Prime Video’s new boxing venture will debut later this month with an abundance of institutional knowledge behind the microphones.

Boxing Scene learned Tuesday that host Brian Custer and play-by-play broadcaster Mauro Ranallo, who long served at Showtime Boxing, will return to those roles when Prime Video launches its first boxing card March 30, a pay-per-view headlined by the WBO and WBC junior middleweight title fight between unbeaten Tim Tszyu and challenger Sebastian Fundora.

The remaining boxing crew is expected to be formally announced in coming days, according to a boxing official who spoke to Boxing Scene on the condition of anonymity because contracts remained unsigned.

Custer and Ranallo provide familiar faces for Prime Video, which will return May 4 with undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez defending his four belts against Mexican countryman Jaime Munguia.

Gervonta “Tank” Davis and David Benavidez are due to fight in separate bouts on a June 15 card, also set for Las Vegas.

The lively and witty Ranallo – known to sprinkle in his patented, “Mamma Mia!” phrase when the action intensifies – is a veteran of combat sports action, having called MMA and professional wrestling along with a slew of major boxing cards with Showtime, including the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Conor McGregor bout in 2017.

Showtime ceased its boxing coverage at the end of 2023, and Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions aligned with Prime Video, which offers a massive subscriber base and worldwide reach.

Custer, the former Showtime World Championship Boxing host, arrives at Prime Video while also still employed at ESPN, where he serves as a “SportsCenter” anchor and fill-in host on the weekday morning show “Get Up.”

[apollo creed]

If they will still keep their fights in house and the fighters are inactive and careful matched I don't care, but yeah Heyman is a very smart businessman.