Will the World Boxing Super Series flop?

[chad]

I love the concept but have concerns it's going to be a disaster.

The way they are selling the rights may hold them back. You've got to buy both tournaments meaning 14 fight nights over 8 months. Are HBO or Showtime likely to pick this up in America? It's becoming very clear that the tournament is unlikely to be picked up by SKY Sports in the UK even though Eddie Hearn has 3 fighters in the tournament. How much interest does this tournament really have outwith Europe? 13 of the 16 fighters are European. The Super Middleweight tournament doesn't really feature the biggest names and champions of the division.

The Cruiserweight tournament, to hardcord boxing fans, is fantastic but it's Eastern European heavy. To those who follow the sport this is the tournament that will crown the most legitimate champion. Problem is the Cruiserweight division has always been a hard sell. I can't see any big broadcaster being excited about most of the fights at an early stage.

So many fights over such a short period. There is bound to be injuries, pull outs and controversy along the way. I just can't see the tournament running the course without fights being called off, rescheduled or fighters being replaced.

If big broadcasters don't invest where does the money come from? I know there is big financial backers but if it flops from the start I can't see many more of these taking place.

Until I start seeing the big TV deals being confirmed, I have little hope in the venture.

[CHRIS TARRANT]

I think the promoters might sell fights individually in the uk market as I can't see any British broadcaster investing in one of the tournaments let alone both.

I wouldn't mind a PPV streaming model. Something like £50 for the whole thing and £12 for an individual fight. Then just let broadcasters bid for individual fights on tele.

[brian13]

The TV model doesn't sound like a recipe for success with the you must buy the tournament in a package rather than just individual fights. Its a shame because the Cruiserweight tournament is cracking, the Super Middleweight is not strong but loaded with British names.

It sounds like the Braehmer / Brant fight is the one, which has put off Sky. If it had of been Braehmer / Cox, the tournament probably would have been picked up.

[chad]

I think the promoters might sell fights individually in the uk market as I can't see any British broadcaster investing in one of the tournaments let alone both.

I wouldn't mind a PPV streaming model. Something like £50 for the whole thing and £12 for an individual fight. Then just let broadcasters bid for individual fights on tele.

The promotion is another thing that makes me think this might go a little under the radar.

There is no British promoter involved or behind the tournament. Whilst Eddie Hearn has 3 fighters in the tournament he's shown in the past, most recently with Davis Vs. Taylor, if he's not promoting the show he will do close to nothing to help sell the event of give it exposure. I understand this as he has his own events to sell and this tournament, with UK based fights taking place, is in competition with him. Plus if SKY don't pick it up then it'll get nothing more than a whisper on SKY Sports News. Who's going to be trying to sell the events to the British public? The Sauerlands? Richard Schaefer? Well known to hardcore boxing fans but outwith that I can't see many casuals knowing who they are.

The World Boxing Super Series could be a hard sell. Callum Smith Vs. Erik Skoglund is scheduled for 16th September in Liverpool with no clear news when tickets go on sale. Fr&nk Warr&n has Saunders Vs. Munro that same night down in London with tickets on sale already. Eddie Hearn has jumped in and announced his Liverpool show scheduled 2 weeks later and has tickets on sale now. Tickets are also on sale for Joseph Parker Vs. Hughie Fury on 23rd September in Manchester. By the time Smith Vs. Skogland goes on sale it's likely boxing fans in the North West would have spent their money elsewhere.

[Tarkus]

I agree. You are as good as your broadcaster. I dont see any TV deals made and I dont see where all those millions are going to come from.

I wonder if they made a TV deal in Germany.

[CHRIS TARRANT]

It does seem like an amateur plan when you put it like that They'll probably have the fight in the Cavern or Ricky Tomlinsons gaff at this rate.

Really hope this concept takes off. Regardless of the success of the upcoming tournament the champs should be fighting the champs to unify. Imagine a Heavyweight version of this in a year or two Could become a recognised way of deciding the best in divisions.

[Tarkus]

They seem to have a 3 year deal to sell the event outside the US. And in USA Showtime is interested. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/b ... /99703166/

[CaptainSpacerod]

At 168 how can it do anything other than flop when the line up's mediocre.

Groves v Smith, Groves v Eubank, Smith v Eubank would all be bill topping fights at this stage of their careers, would presumably earn them decent purses and would be significant from a sporting perspective. Instead they've signed up to a daft tournament where they'll waste six months of their careers fighting relative bums in the "Quarter Finals" before having a meaningful fight ?

As others have said plenty of spanners will get thrown in the works in terms of injuries and pullouts and finding suitable dates and the whole thing will end up as a giant waste of time for everyone other than Schaefer and Sauerland

[crusader]

What are the chances that any one of those fights would just suddenly get made without the tournament though?

[gilgamesh]

I don't know if it'll flop, but I kinda have a hard time that they'll have the 25 Million to pay the winners without taking a significant loss.

The wages athletes make really needs to come back down to reality.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

No. it won't flop.

[TheGingerBomber]

The reason Sky won't have it is because it'll end up flooding their channel every week for a couple of months, when they have their own shows to build and promote. I think Five and ITV should launch a double bid, because both are terrestrial TV over here, everyone has those channels.

Again, its problem is these channels might already have things lined up for whenever the dates are made for each fight. It's a tricky one, and really the tournament organisers should have their own universal channel to cater to everyone.

[Tarkus]

What are the chances that any one of those fights would just suddenly get made without the tournament though?

Zero. Obviously if the best would fight the best we would not need a tournament. At any level competitive fights are rare. Tournament is there exactly for that, to make fights happen.

[afcmarshall]

allegedly and BT would work BT would get the chance to have groves, eubank jnr and callum smith on there channel then allegedly would have the fights BT didnt want

[DSW]

No. it won't flop.

This is the answer.

I have hardly seen anybody mention a bad word about it. Yes the Super Middle tournament is of lower quality than the Cruisers, but the possible domestic clashes between Eubank, Groves and Smith have got everybody by the bollocks.

I can't wait for it to start. Going to the Smith fight in the echo and going to look at getting to Latvia for the Breidis fight.

[chad]

Noticed this week suggestions on Social Media and forums that subscription channel Premier Sports was going for the rights. I totally dismissed this as nothing more than speculation until an unexpected announcement earlier today.

Richard Sweeney and Michael O'Rourke from Setanta Sports and Premier Sports are set to launch a new free-to-air sports channel in the UK called FreeSports. The channel is set to launch on 31st August 2017 and is expected to be available on Freeview, Freesat, SKY and Virgin Media. A placeholder for the new channel appeared on Freeview channel 95 earlier today.

Details of what they plan to show are limited at the moment but the channel will show football, rugby and tennis.

This is an interesting development. Premier Sports was formed by Michael O'Rourke back in 2009 following the collapse of Setanta Sports in the UK. For a period of about 12 months they regularly broadcast fights from the States and signed an exclusive broadcast deal with Gary Shaw / Showbox. They also broadcast some domestic action including Carl Framptons debut and a Mick Hennessy show from Wembley. Last year out the blue Premier Sports landed the rights to Pacman Vs. Bradley III.

What a better way to launch a new channel than snapping up the rights to the World Boxing Super Series? Gives them something to shout about from launch and gives them guaranteed dates. Premier Sports can't compete with SKY or BT but have a long history of snapping up sports rights that are not tied down and are affordable. The guys behind the channel clearly have 1 eye on boxing. If they do win the rights I can't see all the fights being broadcast on FreeSports. You'd maybe get 50% free to air with the other 50% being shown on their subscription service.

Great exposure for the tournament, big fights on FreeSports from launch and a useful tool in getting people to sign up for Premier Sports. It all seems to make sense.

[james5000+]

I love the concept but have concerns it's going to be a disaster.

The way they are selling the rights may hold them back. You've got to buy both tournaments meaning 14 fight nights over 8 months. Are HBO or Showtime likely to pick this up in America? It's becoming very clear that the tournament is unlikely to be picked up by SKY Sports in the UK even though Eddie Hearn has 3 fighters in the tournament. How much interest does this tournament really have outwith Europe? 13 of the 16 fighters are European. The Super Middleweight tournament doesn't really feature the biggest names and champions of the division.

The Cruiserweight tournament, to hardcord boxing fans, is fantastic but it's Eastern European heavy. To those who follow the sport this is the tournament that will crown the most legitimate champion. Problem is the Cruiserweight division has always been a hard sell. I can't see any big broadcaster being excited about most of the fights at an early stage.

So many fights over such a short period. There is bound to be injuries, pull outs and controversy along the way. I just can't see the tournament running the course without fights being called off, rescheduled or fighters being replaced.

If big broadcasters don't invest where does the money come from? I know there is big financial backers but if it flops from the start I can't see many more of these taking place.

Until I start seeing the big TV deals being confirmed, I have little hope in the venture.

WBSS will have a lot of support through many markets including Germany, Russia, UK and US

Just because sky want to pay peanuts for it doesn't mean it won't be successful. Im sure they will have a good game plan to make it work, the production is quality and these guys know their stuff.

Does sky have 1 sports channel in the UK? FFS saying they don't have enough slots is weak, just put it on another channel, they have to know that the slots are going to clash with their shows any way regardless of whether their on sky or not. Plus with time zone differences a lot wont clash any way. All the UK based fights they will be stupid to go head to head against because they will get slaughtered.

[chad]

The opening bout is now a little over just 3 weeks away and still no news on a UK / USA broadcaster.

On the 4th August Kalle Sauerland gave this interview regarding TV deals:

http://www.worldboxingnews.net/2017/08/ ... t-is-drawn

"I Would guess the announcement will be made in the next 10-14 days".

Maybe we will find out tomorrow?

It seemed certain Showtime would pick up the US rights, especially as Jimmy Jennon Jr. is now linked with the tournament, however found this article published 2 days ago:

http://nyfights.com/latest-boxing-news/ ... s-content/

"“While interesting, we have no plans to pick up any of those events at this time,” said a Showtime spokesman when I inquired about Sho being a platform provider for some WBSS tangos."

Would be good to know what is happening with TV.

[chad]

Noticed this week suggestions on Social Media and forums that subscription channel Premier Sports was going for the rights. I totally dismissed this as nothing more than speculation until an unexpected announcement earlier today.

Richard Sweeney and Michael O'Rourke from Setanta Sports and Premier Sports are set to launch a new free-to-air sports channel in the UK called FreeSports. The channel is set to launch on 31st August 2017 and is expected to be available on Freeview, Freesat, SKY and Virgin Media. A placeholder for the new channel appeared on Freeview channel 95 earlier today.

Details of what they plan to show are limited at the moment but the channel will show football, rugby and tennis.

This is an interesting development. Premier Sports was formed by Michael O'Rourke back in 2009 following the collapse of Setanta Sports in the UK. For a period of about 12 months they regularly broadcast fights from the States and signed an exclusive broadcast deal with Gary Shaw / Showbox. They also broadcast some domestic action including Carl Framptons debut and a Mick Hennessy show from Wembley. Last year out the blue Premier Sports landed the rights to Pacman Vs. Bradley III.

What a better way to launch a new channel than snapping up the rights to the World Boxing Super Series? Gives them something to shout about from launch and gives them guaranteed dates. Premier Sports can't compete with SKY or BT but have a long history of snapping up sports rights that are not tied down and are affordable. The guys behind the channel clearly have 1 eye on boxing. If they do win the rights I can't see all the fights being broadcast on FreeSports. You'd maybe get 50% free to air with the other 50% being shown on their subscription service.

Great exposure for the tournament, big fights on FreeSports from launch and a useful tool in getting people to sign up for Premier Sports. It all seems to make sense.

Freesports launching at the beginning of September on all TV platforms:

https://www.freesports.tv/

"Our ever growing sports line up includes; Football - Rugby League - Tennis - Ice Hockey - MMA - Basketball - Cricket - Speedway - Nascar - Athletics - Wrestling... and lots more world class action brought to you in partnership with some of sports' leading rights holders including; IMG, MP Silva, Lagardere, Pitch & Infront."

It's MP Silva who are handling the sale of the World Boxing Super Series TV rights. It would be great if the tournament did land on this new channel. I'm hopeful but not expecting.

[thatllbeme]

the best thing now will be that allegedly/BT Sport take the full package as their schedule is poor and i cant see many other shows they can get to fill the gaps between their UK shows

[TheGman]

I love the concept but have concerns it's going to be a disaster.

The way they are selling the rights may hold them back. You've got to buy both tournaments meaning 14 fight nights over 8 months. Are HBO or Showtime likely to pick this up in America? It's becoming very clear that the tournament is unlikely to be picked up by SKY Sports in the UK even though Eddie Hearn has 3 fighters in the tournament. How much interest does this tournament really have outwith Europe? 13 of the 16 fighters are European. The Super Middleweight tournament doesn't really feature the biggest names and champions of the division.

The Cruiserweight tournament, to hardcord boxing fans, is fantastic but it's Eastern European heavy. To those who follow the sport this is the tournament that will crown the most legitimate champion. Problem is the Cruiserweight division has always been a hard sell. I can't see any big broadcaster being excited about most of the fights at an early stage.

So many fights over such a short period. There is bound to be injuries, pull outs and controversy along the way. I just can't see the tournament running the course without fights being called off, rescheduled or fighters being replaced.

If big broadcasters don't invest where does the money come from? I know there is big financial backers but if it flops from the start I can't see many more of these taking place.

Until I start seeing the big TV deals being confirmed, I have little hope in the venture.

To be honest if it was shown on itv or channel 5 i think it would generate alot of interest but it will be thrown on ppv or sky and some ppl dont av sky or cant afford 20 a month extra for ppv.

[Ricky_]

Loving your optimism

[emallini]

We are boxing fans just fornicating enjoy it

[northern]

it's the first one of it's kind so it won't 'flop' by any means. You've got world level and up and coming boxers in the event and the Cruiser weight side of it is really strong so hopefully the cruiser weights will get the attention they deserve at long last.

Granted the super middle weights are mainly European and mostly British boxers but, it is the first of it's kind. If it turns out to generate the attention it seems to be doing then any follow up events will be just as successful in the future if not even more so then this series.

[KiwiRider]

it's the first one of it's kind so it won't 'flop' by any means. You've got world level and up and coming boxers in the event and the Cruiser weight side of it is really strong so hopefully the cruiser weights will get the attention they deserve at long last.

Granted the super middle weights are mainly European and mostly British boxers but, it is the first of it's kind. If it turns out to generate the attention it seems to be doing then any follow up events will be just as successful in the future if not even more so then this series.

Agree.
And if it goes well, next year will attract higher level SMW contenders, it is a terrific payday after all..