BoxRec

Viewing figures peaked at 3.02 million, 14% of the entire UK TV audience, damn thats good.

What seemed like a rather obscure decision to broadcast on this channel has been a rather canny move from team Haymaker.

http://www.BS.com/david-haye-g ... ve--100469

Probably means we'll see more boxing on Dave. Let's hope the events they show are more serious than the one we just watched.

I mean, I liked the fact that they didn't go down the Fish, Chips & Scraps route of getting comedians and rugby players in, to try an lad up the banter. Say what you like about Paul Dempsey and friends, but at least they were trying to treat this as a serious boxing event.

On the other hand, their attempts at making it serious were let down by the fact that it wasn't serious. We all know who'd win. And we all suspected it's probably be inside the first round or two. But that didn't account for the other BS going on. For example, why was there a DJ based dance party going on in the crowd? That was ridiculous and unnecessary.

One criticism of Dave's production was that they needed more under card fights on. But even then, the promoters hadn't exactly provided many worth watching.

It'll be a shame if boxing goes this way. It's pretty much of a farce of a sport as it is. And though I understand a lot of fans tune in because they want to see a show as well as the boxing, the boxing does still need to be present.

ILikeBeer wrote:For example, why was there a DJ based dance party going on in the crowd? That was ridiculous and unnecessary.

DJ Spoony did a set at Froch Groves 2 the place looked more like a massive rave than a boxing show about 5 mins before the ring walks. New age promoting innit.......I'm not a fan either! Like you say though I'll accept that kinda crap if its matched with decent fights (across the whole card) sadly a lot of the time its not.

Great that it did over 3 million. Imagine what a legit fight could pull on free to view tv

3 million is brilliant IMO more so when there when its rivalling other Saturday shows.


On the other hand, their attempts at making it serious were let down by the fact that it wasn't serious. We all know who'd win. And we all suspected it's probably be inside the first round or two. But that didn't account for the other BS going on. For example, why was there a DJ based dance party going on in the crowd? That was ridiculous and unnecessary.

I would imagine this was decided by Haye & his team & Dave just had to toe the line.

I'm sure it did decent numbers, but out of curiosity does anyone know the source for this figure other than Haye's promoters? I thought BARB only released numbers a week or so later, hence the question.

Grate figures. Heavyweight boxing will always generate big numbers for a channel on free to air.

Haye has crossover appeal too

Will have to see if Dave is serious about putting on more shows. It would be great if they did four Haye fights this year, with the opposition improving each time. Worry is if Haye tries to go PPV soon as Dave's regularly programming is cheap repeats, but Haye could become a face of the channel.

So a sport which has been pushed away from the mainstream can still pull in these numbers (if accurate) for a low-level comeback fight! It just shows how much we've been shafted by Sky and how big the sport could be right now if there was a larger presence on free to air TV. Boxing pulls in numbers.

ste1983 wrote:

ILikeBeer wrote:For example, why was there a DJ based dance party going on in the crowd? That was ridiculous and unnecessary.

DJ Spoony did a set at Froch Groves 2 the place looked more like a massive rave than a boxing show about 5 mins before the ring walks. New age promoting innit.......I'm not a fan either! Like you say though I'll accept that kinda crap if its matched with decent fights (across the whole card) sadly a lot of the time its not.

Yeah I prefer the days when it was just a troupe of dwarves accompanied by a tuneless saxophonist.

Those viewing figures are great. Haye will get far more publicity fighting on Dave than Joshua and Fury, and he will continue to be inviting on chat shows and panel shows, which means he will be in a good negotiating position with a belt holder. He should try and get Martin in the ring as quick as possible, as he'd iron him out no trouble at all.

danamba7 wrote:So a sport which has been pushed away from the mainstream can still pull in these numbers (if accurate) for a low-level comeback fight! It just shows how much we've been shafted by Sky and how big the sport could be right now if there was a larger presence on free to air TV. Boxing pulls in numbers.

I think part of the appeal of the bill was Haye's name and charisma bringing in a lot of the casual fans. But you certainly have a point.

If a show the lasted for several hours, that featured about four minutes worth of actual boxing can attract that level of viewers to a channel more famous for repeats of panel shows, then it proves what can be done without the need of PPV.

ILikeBeer wrote:

danamba7 wrote:So a sport which has been pushed away from the mainstream can still pull in these numbers (if accurate) for a low-level comeback fight! It just shows how much we've been shafted by Sky and how big the sport could be right now if there was a larger presence on free to air TV. Boxing pulls in numbers.

I think part of the appeal of the bill was Haye's name and charisma bringing in a lot of the casual fans. But you certainly have a point.

If a show the lasted for several hours, that featured about four minutes worth of actual boxing can attract that level of viewers to a channel more famous for repeats of panel shows, then it proves what can be done without the need of PPV.

Absolutely. I know plenty of people who would be in to boxing if it was on free TV. There are a lot of casual fans out there who can't or won't pay for sky or any other subscription channel. But. If it's free, then they jump at the chance to watch it.

The sport can be absolutely huge. The sport ain't dying. Not even close. It's being held back by the money hungry elites. It's full potential is being stifled.

It doesn't matter what figures it pulled in, Haye will be off to fight on SKY PPV as soon as the opportunity arises - Dave is just being used as a vehicle to get there.

Twinkle Toes wrote:It doesn't matter what figures it pulled in, Haye will be off to fight on SKY PPV as soon as the opportunity arises - Dave is just being used as a vehicle to get there.

But imagine if all boxers were built on free-to-air TV, gained a huge fan base, and then used the PPV formula for the biggest fights only E.g. Froch Groves 2. The PPVs would much bigger and people wouldn't have as much of a problem paying for big fights as all other fights are free to watch.

I know, I can dream.

The best thing about this whole broadcast was BJ Flores as commentator and analyst. I thought he came across very well

ILoveHowardFoster wrote:The best thing about this whole broadcast was BJ Flores as commentator and analyst. I thought he came across very well

Yeah was surprised. Looked like he was on the gear but spoke very well.

The number sounds ridiculously high. I can't imagine Dave has ever done anything like those numbers on anything before, not even half those numbers.

I'd like to hear where the numbers came from, was it an algorithm provided by the Salter Brothers by any chance?

Find out for sure when the ratings are published next week.

http://www.barb.co.uk/whats-new/weekly-top-30?

3m would be great. Not knocking it. But that would be more than the previous weeks top two (on 'Other' channels - not BBC, ITV etc) combined, which was Stoke v Liverpool on SS1 and Agents of Shield on E4.

I wonder if the timing of the fight helped a little ie no live boxing for almost a month, heavyweights very much making the headlines at the end of last year. Haye was telling everyone that he was facing a top ten ranked opponent. I wonder how many viewers actually thought they'd see a decent fight?

Paul Dempsey was very good. He made reference to De Mori being a clubfighter or fighting at a clubfighter level. Can't see Steve Bunce or Adam Smith being that honest.

Maybe they got the 3 million figure from a 'de MORI' poll?

Cholo_cws wrote:Maybe they got the 3 million figure from a 'de MORI' poll?

Nice touch
Must admit I'm surprised that so many people are taking the number at face value despite there being no credible source for it at this juncture.

If 3 million is the figure, itv must be kicking themselves. Haye was in the jungle and has appeared on other saturday night shows before. I think he would've done 5 million plus on itv.

Massive viewing figures and a full house. Can we all agree that Haye's comeback was a success that was marketed brilliantly?

Putting people on PPV like Joshua is short term profit against long term gain, imagine if Joshua was on ITV prime time or BBC sports night like Bruno was and being built up in front of millions instead of buried away on PPV where he is only seen by those prepared to pay.

Hopefully the numbers might encourage more fights to be made on normal TV now.

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