Is there a future for boxing on SKY Sports?

[chad]

Just been reading this:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... -deal.html

"The size of Sky Sports’ gamble in paying an astonishing £11millon a game to retain their Premier League TV rights has led to the company having to re-address their entire sports strategy. And overlord Barney Francis addressed staff this week to present his way forward - ‘Fit for the Future’ - with the station needing to make considerable changes to afford their gigantic football bill. This will see Sky concentrate on their live rights in every sport while reducing the support programming and those leaving the network are not being automatically replaced."

Certainly sounds like Ringside could be at risk. Eddies contract is up in 2016. Surely they wouldn't drop boxing? Saying that viewing figures haven't been great so far in 2015 plus SKY continually get plenty of negative feedback in terms of the quality of shows on social media.

[TheGman]

I think they didnt look at the big picture when the got rid of fw,maloney and hatton,fw imo was the top promotor at that time and he had built up boxing on sky from the beginning of sky till they cut him off,that left mr hearn and matchroom with the might of sky tv money to cherry pick the best of british boxers and the next stars of boxing after london 2012,hatton was,again imo,the next bug think for the future of british boxing but again sky threw a spanner in the works with him and again hearn cherry picked his fighter too,id still like to see hearn build a fighter from scratch to world beater,i dont think he has the nouse to do so. Boxing is dying on sky and we can all blame matchroom and eddie hearn for this,serving us fans with absolute shite fights and shite cards,we can also blame adam smith and johnny nelson cause these guys are meant to know ther stuff about boxing,they could say to the powers that b in the boardrooms of sky that these cards matchroom are showing are absolute shite but they dont they sit back and collect ther pay checks thinkin they will b around on sky forever well the future of boxing lies in allegedly on british tv imo

[Stuarty]

Some of the shows have been pretty bad and we have a few more on the horizon that are poor also. I reckon they'll probably renew Matchrooms deal because all said and done they have a decent stable and there is potential there for good fights. One thing that does get on my nipple ends is having to pay a Sky subscription along with BN and any PPVs that are on. It all adds up. Especially being a Virgin customer. Their price for the sports is a total piss take. Stuck in with kids most weekends though so I need my boxing on for my sanity

[ILikeBeer]

£11million a game?

[dbf]

The last bit about a Thierry Henry youtube vid being more important than traditional programming is exactly what Gomez has been going on about. Sky are going to have to change and with that change boxing could be a victim.

Matchroom will survive and probably in two years time we will see boxing on BT and Eddie calling them the "big platform/broadcaster". Boxing will survive but maybe not on sky.

[MightyWarrior]

Yeah obviously sky are not serious about boxing, or they wouldn't put a hapless goon like Adam Smith in charge.

[ScottDetonator]

I'm not so sure guys.

Think of it like this, what is the major demographic for football? Men, right? What do men love after a good footy match? A few more beers, a take-away and a good punch up.

If boxing is to go down the pan on Sky, it'll be because the fights haven't inspired the public. You've also got to think that the PPV aspect isn't helping matters. The blame will lay with Matchroom for not coming up with the goods.

[ashedward]

As long as they think they can make money on ppv they will keep the other dates as well.If Hearn fucks up ppv then it`s over.3 out of the 4 ppvs Hearn has done have been a success with the amount of money made plus being well received the Bellew one did good money according to Hearn but was received poorly.If Manny-Floyd does poor figures for the money paid it could hurt boxing on Sky but I Sky think that Joshua could make them huge money in the future.Matchroom also provide the Darts which helps them with Sky.

[ashedward]

I think they didnt look at the big picture when the got rid of fw,maloney and hatton,fw imo was the top promotor at that time and he had built up boxing on sky from the beginning of sky till they cut him off,that left mr hearn and matchroom with the might of sky tv money to cherry pick the best of british boxers and the next stars of boxing after london 2012,hatton was,again imo,the next bug think for the future of british boxing but again sky threw a spanner in the works with him and again hearn cherry picked his fighter too,id still like to see hearn build a fighter from scratch to world beater,i dont think he has the nouse to do so. Boxing is dying on sky and we can all blame matchroom and eddie hearn for this,serving us fans with absolute shite fights and shite cards,we can also blame adam smith and johnny nelson cause these guys are meant to know ther stuff about boxing,they could say to the powers that b in the boardrooms of sky that these cards matchroom are showing are absolute shite but they dont they sit back and collect ther pay checks thinkin they will b around on sky forever well the future of boxing lies in allegedly on british tv imo

Fw did leave Sky a couple of times so it`s not like he was a constant on the channel,I always thought Hatton promotions were unlucky throughI think boxing on Sky has improved and is not dying on the channel imo but I feel some people are biased against Matchroom,don`t get me wrong plenty of fights aren`t good enough but I prefer it to the old ffn card and the old Maloney show we used to have,it`s a shame that Hatton promotions didn`t get any dates to keep Eddie on his toes.

[ScottDetonator]

Matchroom also provide the Darts which helps them with Sky.

And I don't think darts will be in trouble on Sky. Aren't they 2nd behind football in viewing figures on Sky and plus, all the gambling involved in it. Darts is pretty big business and massively sponsored by the bookies.

[Weirdyman]

I'm not so sure guys.

Think of it like this, what is the major demographic for football? Men, right? What do men love after a good footy match? A few more beers, a take-away and a good punch up.

If boxing is to go down the pan on Sky, it'll be because the fights haven't inspired the public. You've also got to think that the PPV aspect isn't helping matters. The blame will lay with Matchroom for not coming up with the goods.

This.

What else could they fill that air time with? And the occasional overhyped PPV to expand the coffers a bit.

I think the contract with Matchroom will end and it'll back to being open to all promoters.

[JimJim2009]

Yeah obviously sky are not serious about boxing, or they wouldn't put a hapless goon like Adam Smith in charge.

man, thats damn funny

[Boxerbeetle]

I say this every single time this subject comes up, but for old time's sake: I really hope Sky pull out of boxing altogether so I can merrily pay for just the one boxing channel. Sky Sports is shocking value for a boxing fan, and gets worse every single year.

[ashedward]

Matchroom also provide the Darts which helps them with Sky.

And I don't think darts will be in trouble on Sky. Aren't they 2nd behind football in viewing figures on Sky and plus, all the gambling involved in it. Darts is pretty big business and massively sponsored by the bookies.

Yeah darts will be fine.

[reggaereggae]

It's hard to judge without seeing the commercials and viewing figures. But in its existence as a channel, they've always shown boxing so it's likely they will continue

[moogie101]

When they are still able to put out substandard PPV's & make a huge profit there will always be a space for boxing on Sky Sports.

Obviously I'm not including Mayweather/ Pac in this as the buyrate for that should be strong but will cost Sky a packet to promote. But the very fact that Sky has put the big money down to secure this fight strongly hints that boxing on Sky is far from dead,

Also when they can charge PPV for a Hearn card that should just be a Saturday night Sky card then boxing has to be seen as a viable & profitable option. As already mentioned shows like Ringside might suffer though.

[broomy7s]

Matchroom provide other sports to sky including darts which is very popular. I can't see sky risking their relationship with matchroom tbh.

[surfthehurf]

Don't forget that Sky and Sky Sports have a multiple income stream and fleece the viewers much more than any other network.
Subscription service that costs 3x the license fee
Twice as many adverts as terrestrial TV
Most flagship programs are sponsored
Huge fights are pay per view
They probably syndicate (sell on) a lot of the footage

So although the football is costing millions per match, this is an exception and they get other money from services like broadband

[IRLangmaid25]

Sky Sports do have a considerable portfolio on the sports front with the Premier League Footy, Formula 1, Eredivisie and Spanish football, Darts, Boxing and cricket. However with BT Sport picking up the Premiership Rugby and from next season Champions League football they do have some airtime to fill for the next 2-3 years

So I personally still think boxing does a future on Sky Sports, however I do expect that Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Sports will be told to raise their game on the bills they put together and be perhaps encouraged to work together with other promoters to ensure the cards do improve.

[chad]

Sky Sports do have a considerable portfolio on the sports front with the Premier League Footy, Formula 1, Eredivisie and Spanish football, Darts, Boxing and cricket. However with BT Sport picking up the Premiership Rugby and from next season Champions League football they do have some airtime to fill for the next 2-3 years

So I personally still think boxing does a future on Sky Sports, however I do expect that Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Sports will be told to raise their game on the bills they put together and be perhaps encouraged to work together with other promoters to ensure the cards do improve.

If SKY do continue their boxing coverage, there's certainly wriggle room for them to up their game:

https://corporate.sky.com/media-centre/ ... -year-ever

The most televised sports in 2014 on Sky Sports, including support programming and live coverage but excluding interactive programming were:

Football - 10,912 hours
Golf - 6,282 hours
Cricket - 4,607 hours
F1® & Motorsport - 4,276 hours
Rugby Union - 1,943 hours
Tennis - 1,662 hours
Rugby League - 1,187 hours
Women’s sport - 1,160 hours
Boxing - 1,115 hours

Boxing is at the bottom of the pile.

[surfthehurf]

also from that article, Sky has a turnover of 11bn. That is huge :readit:

Sky is Europe’s leading entertainment company. The group serves 20 million customers across five countries: Italy, Germany, Austria, the UK and Ireland. We offer the best and broadest range of content, deliver market-leading customer service and use innovative new technology to give customers a better TV experience, whenever and wherever they choose.

Sky has annual revenues of over £11 billion and is Europe’s leading investor in television content with a combined programming budget of over £4.6 billion. The company employs 31,000 people and is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SKY).

[Parson Cross]

Boxing is a minority sport.
Had it not been for Matchrooms lucrative other contracts with Sky, boxing would have been finished on the network.
Barry bought a toy for his young un.
Barney had had enough when the Matchroom offer to be the exclusive provider came along.
Boxing was a matter of weeks away from disappearing off Sky.
Sky pay signicantly less per show these days than when there were multi promoters on the supply chain.
As long as boxing wipes it's face - break even or better - it will stay on Sky.
We are all avid fans and have a distorted view on the need for boxing on the network.
If it was so lucrative BT Sports could have taken it for a pittance - but they didn't.

[Parson Cross]

Chad
Those figures are interesting.
I don't know if it's available but I guess rather than the hours it's shown Sky are more interested in the viewing figures.
I bet boxing is just as low in that table as well.

[expe]

For me the question is what happens when Barry retires? I can't see Eddie running Darts, Snooker, Boxing, Golf, Fishing and all their other interests. Something will have to give, either they hire someone to run the boxing side, or they pull out altogether. At that point Sky don't have to show boxing to keep the Hearn's happy, and if it isn't breaking even, then why would they carry on showing it?

[SMALL AXE1]

Yes.






With a preloaded box from ebay for £50.00.