BoxRec

Showtime, which historically has come up short against HBO in the ratings war in part because of an approximately 30% smaller subscriber base, won Saturday night’s battle of the eyeballs in head-to-head boxing broadcasts.

Showtime’s excellent main event — Leo Santa Cruz’s majority decision win against Carl Frampton in a featherweight WBA title rematch — peaked at 643,000 viewers, based on ratings by Nielsen Media Research. That exceeded HBO’s main event, which also put on a first-rate scrap involving Miguel Berchelt stopping Francisco Vargas in the 11th round for a WBC featherweight title that peaked at 549,000 viewers.

Santa Cruz-Frampton attracted an average viewership of 587,000 while Berchelt-Vargas did an average of 497,000. Both main events were broadcast live in the same 45-50-minute window in the 11pm ET spot. HBO’s entire broadcast peaked at 561,000 and that included a portion of Takashi Miura’s stunning 12th-round knockout of Miguel Roman in the 130-pound co-feature. HBO typically doesn't make statements on viewership numbers and declined a request for comment on Tuesday.

No bid surprise here. The SHO main event was the strongest fight by far so I'm not surprised. I am surprised at how well HBO did in the numbers that night though.

I think that the two shows fed off of one another.

caldo2025 wrote:No bid surprise here. The SHO main event was the strongest fight by far so I'm not surprised. I am surprised at how well HBO did in the numbers that night though.

Had they have not been head to head, you reckon Frampton-Santa Cruz would have peaked a million?

Poor ratings all around, but it's good for showtime. Been years since they won.

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:Poor ratings all around, but it's good for showtime. Been years since they won.

Last time they won, It was Rigo fighting on HBO

Showtime definitely had the better card on paper, with a much more "significant" main event.

The 2 fights on HBO were absolutely incredible from an action standpoint, though.

Ruthless-RKO wrote:Showtime Wins Head-To-Head Ratings Matchup With HBO

If my memory is correct, doesn't HBO have around 34% more subscribers than Showtime? If I'm right, then Showtime surpassing HBO's viewing figures would be really impressive considering the disparity between the size of their customer base.

Enlightened-One wrote:

Ruthless-RKO wrote:Showtime Wins Head-To-Head Ratings Matchup With HBO

If my memory is correct, doesn't HBO have around 34% more subscribers than Showtime? If I'm right, then Showtime surpassing HBO's viewing figures would be really impressive considering the disparity between the size of their customer base.

That is correct, Dan Rafael said it 30% more. But again. Very impressive.

Ruthless-RKO wrote:

caldo2025 wrote:No bid surprise here. The SHO main event was the strongest fight by far so I'm not surprised. I am surprised at how well HBO did in the numbers that night though.

Had they have not been head to head, you reckon Frampton-Santa Cruz would have peaked a million?

Yes. Probably. Mexico was definitely more tuned in on the Vargas fight. That kid never disappoints.