TV Coverage of O2 Arena card?

earsjohn · Post by **earsjohn** » 02 Jul 2007, 08:01

Is the forthcoming bill from the O2 Arena going to be broadcast live on Terrestrial TV?

Given the depth of quality in the card and the eagerness of the public to see Amir Khan tested in a title fight, it would be an utter tragedy if we didn't get to see it because of the usual political back-fighting and money grabbing that mars the sport.

This card should be live on Terrestrial and it should be sorted out as soon as possible to get some promos in. There is a risk that the night will pass by most casual fans. Another case of boxing shooting itself in the foot.

Wales · Post by **Wales** » 02 Jul 2007, 08:20

It'll be on somewhere... theres no way the card will go untelevised.

earsjohn · Post by **earsjohn** » 02 Jul 2007, 08:37

But surely if FW wants to generate maximum publicity and therefore maximum viewing figures, and ultimately maximise $$$$, this needs to be sorted now. Less than 2 weeks til the night and away from boxing sites on the web, there is no promotion.

Announcing a couple of days before that the fights are going to be on ITV/c5/wherever isn't the best way to go about things. Surely someone in a position of control has learnt something from the Oscar v PBF fight - Huge publicity, "Reality" Series, bad mouthing, etc in the build up to what most boxing fans expected was going to be a dull fight generated record PPV buys (yes I know that ODH is a cash cow and having the p4p No 1 is going to help - but HBO et al made SURE everyone knew the fight was on).

Wales · Post by **Wales** » 02 Jul 2007, 08:44

The question was is it going to be broadcast. I'd imagine yes.

As for the advertising etc... I believe Mr Warren is currently negotiating terms with ITV so until the deal is done they cant / wont advertise.
Also, as its on terrestrial TV viewing figures wont maximise Franks profit.
And as for the late advertising, im sure if Frank drops it in his NOTW column word of mouth will spread. Couplethat with a couple of welll placed adverts on ITV and he's laughing.

BC might be able to explain further.

oliverfennell · Post by **oliverfennell** » 02 Jul 2007, 08:47

Wales wrote:im sure if Frank drops it in his NOTW column word of mouth will spread.

He no longer writes for NOTW. His latest column was his last one.

TerribleTerry · Post by **TerribleTerry** » 02 Jul 2007, 08:55

oliverfennell wrote:
Wales wrote:im sure if Frank drops it in his NOTW column word of mouth will spread.
He no longer writes for NOTW. His latest column was his last one.

Thats God for that.

His thinly veiled hate-filled, and jealousy-fuelled, rhetorics used to sicken me.

It was a soapbox, no more, no less.

If UFC had a card of that quality on in London you wouldnt be able to move for billboards, in cities as far apart as Birmingham and Manchester

Have SN learned nothing from the recent UFC 'invasion'??

earsjohn · Post by **earsjohn** » 02 Jul 2007, 08:55

Wales wrote:The question was is it going to be broadcast. I'd imagine yes.

As for the advertising etc... I believe Mr Warren is currently negotiating terms with ITV so until the deal is done they cant / wont advertise.
Also, as its on terrestrial TV viewing figures wont maximise Franks profit.
And as for the late advertising, im sure if Frank drops it in his NOTW column word of mouth will spread. Couplethat with a couple of welll placed adverts on ITV and he's laughing.

BC might be able to explain further.

I don't doubt for one second that the fights will be broadcast.

As for maximising profit, surely it would be more beneficial, in the long term, for this card to have as many people knowing about it and therefore watching it as possible. Especially on the back of the publicity generated by Hattons win. High ratings for this card will boost advertising revenue for subsequent shows, especially those Warren specials where protected champs fight some chump. A well measured, well prepared advertising campaign for what promises to be a very good night of British boxing would do better for everyone concerned than relying on word of mouth. It would also help to sell tickets for the O2.

Wales · Post by **Wales** » 02 Jul 2007, 08:57

Yes, but if he doesnt know what channel its going to be on himself, then how can he advertise it.

No Frank in NOTW, surely sales will plummet

TerribleTerry · Post by **TerribleTerry** » 02 Jul 2007, 09:00

Wales wrote:Yes, but if he doesnt know what channel its going to be on himself, then how can he advertise it.

No Frank in NOTW, surely sales will plummet

He should be pushing the live event to maximise the gate - advertise the O2 card on bill boards as a genuine event.

I remember being a kid in Brum seeing loads of billboards for the first Benn v Eubank clash at the NEC and getting really excited about it.

Where are the equivalent large scale ads these days? Non existant as far as I can tell. It shows how lazy and stale an exclusive contract can make you IMO..

earsjohn · Post by **earsjohn** » 02 Jul 2007, 09:03

Wales wrote:Yes, but if he doesnt know what channel its going to be on himself, then how can he advertise it.

No Frank in NOTW, surely sales will plummet

I acknowledge that, but in my original post I referred to the political back-fighting (sic) and money grabbing. FW knew that his ITV contract was at an end prior to this card being put together. ITV, FW and all the others involeved in this promotion really ought to question whether they're antics and non-action are in the best interests of the sport, and therefore, their own financial concerns.

TerribleTerry is spot on about the comparison to UFC - everyone seems to appreciate that Boxing is under threat, but those in a position to do something about it seem to be behaving in an Ostrich like fashion.

No doubt FW will blame ITV; ITV will blame the Internet; etc......

Wales · Post by **Wales** » 02 Jul 2007, 09:11

TerribleTerry wrote:
Wales wrote:
Where are the equivalent large scale ads these days? ..

Where are the equivalent bouts?

earsjohn · Post by **earsjohn** » 02 Jul 2007, 09:17

Wales wrote:
TerribleTerry wrote:
Wales wrote:
Where are the equivalent large scale ads these days? ..
Where are the equivalent bouts?

Ok, so it's not quite Benn v Eubank, but surely a card featuring the Olympic Silver Medallist in his first Championship fight; Britains number 1 Heavyweight in a Commonwealth title fight; Nicky Cooks belated World title debut and a long list of quality support fights is deserving of a little more publicity than is being generated at present?

Simply having Amir Khans face up around the place would boost sales. Everyone knows who he is; No-one knows he is fighting in under 2 weeks.

Wales · Post by **Wales** » 02 Jul 2007, 09:28

Wonder how ticket sales are going then...

As for nobody knows he's fighitng in 2 weeks, i guess everyone here knows. And there was a public workout in London last Saturday involving the fighters (including Khan) that are fighting on the bill @ the 02. I cant answer on behalf of SN, and I cant justify the advertising campaign they decide to (or not to) run with. Franks been in the game a long time though, so Im sure he knows better thna most what he's doing.

101boxing · Post by **101boxing** » 02 Jul 2007, 09:33

i was down at the public workout on friday and barry mcguigan was down there doing an interview with kahn for itv. the itv cameras were also filming the rest of the lads training. wouldn't havr thought they would do that at cost if the fights were going to be screened elsewhere.

good public workout as well in an impressive setting. looking forward to it!!!

101boxing · Post by **101boxing** » 02 Jul 2007, 09:36

Wales wrote:Yes, but if he doesnt know what channel its going to be on himself, then how can he advertise it.

No Frank in NOTW, surely sales will plummet

he has a new column in the sun every saturday.

earsjohn · Post by **earsjohn** » 02 Jul 2007, 09:38

Wales wrote:Wonder how ticket sales are going then...

As for nobody knows he's fighitng in 2 weeks, i guess everyone here knows. And there was a public workout in London last Saturday involving the fighters (including Khan) that are fighting on the bill @ the 02. I cant answer on behalf of SN, and I cant justify the advertising campaign they decide to (or not to) run with. Franks been in the game a long time though, so Im sure he knows better thna most what he's doing.

Everybody on here sure does know, but we're not the new viewers that promoters should be trying to reach.

The public workout was a great idea, but unless the casual viewer (who is not a member of a boxing specific forum) doesn't know about the card, how will he watch it?

Frank has been in the game a long time (1981 so I read somewhere) but over the last few years a number of things have happened that have changed the picture - the growth of the Internet - more sites with more gossip, interaction between fans and generally improved communication of information; true multi-channel TV and not just Sky v Terrestrial - it has to be remembered that there was no boxing of consequence on Terrestrial from Benn v McClellan to the public demanding to see Amir Khan following his Olympic victory; and the growth of UFC, etc as a true competitor.

Seeing as the picture has changed so widely, and so rapidly, is it therefore viable to trust that FW will sort it out ok because "he knows better than most what he's doing"?

Just to be clear, this is not intended to be an anti-FW rant - it's more a discussion on the future of promotion in boxing based on the evidence of potentially the biggest british card of the year (it certainly beats the Calzaghe-Manfredo farce at the Millenium).

Wales · Post by **Wales** » 02 Jul 2007, 09:38

Wouldnt buy the sun if it had naked pictures of jessica alba in it... shite paper <spits>

oliverfennell · Post by **oliverfennell** » 02 Jul 2007, 10:38

earsjohn wrote: there was no boxing of consequence on Terrestrial from Benn v McClellan to the public demanding to see Amir Khan following his Olympic victory

The BBC showed Carl Froch, Junior Witter, Danny Williams, Audley Harrison, Michael Sprott, David Haye, Herbie Hide, Clinton Woods, Howard Eastman, Carl Johanneson, Peter Oboh, Nicky Cook, Esham Pickering, the ABAs, amateur world championships, the Olympics, Commonwealth Games AND Roy Jones, Ricardo Mayorga, Shane Mosley, Vernon Forrest, Arturo Gatti, Markus Beyer... etc etc.

Hardly "no boxing of consequence".

Wales · Post by **Wales** » 02 Jul 2007, 10:54

Barrera Pac man - just to add another one in....

earsjohn · Post by **earsjohn** » 02 Jul 2007, 10:57

oliverfennell wrote:
earsjohn wrote: there was no boxing of consequence on Terrestrial from Benn v McClellan to the public demanding to see Amir Khan following his Olympic victory
The BBC showed Carl Froch, Junior Witter, Danny Williams, Audley Harrison, Michael Sprott, David Haye, Herbie Hide, Clinton Woods, Howard Eastman, Carl Johanneson, Peter Oboh, Nicky Cook, Esham Pickering, the ABAs, amateur world championships, the Olympics, Commonwealth Games AND Roy Jones, Ricardo Mayorga, Shane Mosley, Vernon Forrest, Arturo Gatti, Markus Beyer... etc etc.

Hardly "no boxing of consequence".

Oops. Must have been a period when I was without a TV!!

My point remains valid however as there are now many more players in the market - Sky, BBC, ITV, c4, Five, Setanta on TV; secondsout.tv and more to come on the Internet - the market is vastly changed from even 2 years ago - this must be recognised by promoters.

stujones · Post by **stujones** » 02 Jul 2007, 11:03

I was wondering why there was no column this week.

I know it might get scoffed at, but that is very bad for the Sport in the UK. Occasionally, in quiet weeks, it is the only time boxing mentioned in any paper all week.

boxingchatter · Post by **boxingchatter** » 02 Jul 2007, 11:05

It will be on either Sentanta or ITV if it is on TV. I know a man who knows a man who knows this guy who reckons they've only sold 5,000 tickets so maybe they are keeping the fact it is on TV quiet until they've sold afew more

leforge · Post by **leforge** » 02 Jul 2007, 11:40

Its not on Setanta latest schedules.

Autobarn · Post by **Autobarn** » 02 Jul 2007, 11:44

Wales wrote:Barrera Pac man - just to add another one in....

for some reason i missed just about all of those fights and had to catch up with DVDs. they weren't well advertised or well publicised or anything. only BBC boxing i watched was haye v thompson and Winky-Mosley 2

leforge · Post by **leforge** » 02 Jul 2007, 11:46

They will have sold more than 5,000 tickets