Showtime is closing, what now for boxing?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Showtime will be absorbed into Paramount+, so what could that mean for boxing?

After 47 years, Showtime as we know it will soon be gone. Will the change also mark the end of 37 years of boxing?

Someone prepare Jimmy Lennon Jr.: It’s not Showtime anymore. Instead, get ready for “Paramount+ With Showtime” on cable and streaming.

Earlier today, Deadline published a story citing internal communications from Chris McCarthy, President and CEO of Paramount Media Networks, and Bob Bakish, President and CEO of parent company Paramount Global, outlining the complete restructuring and rebranding of the Showtime premium cable channel before the end of this year.

From the Bakish memo:

I’m thrilled to share the next step in our company’s evolution. Today, we’re announcing that we will be fully integrating SHOWTIME into Paramount+ across both streaming and linear platforms later this year — providing even more popular franchises and hit originals for viewers to enjoy. To reflect this change, both our premium streaming tier on Paramount+ and the SHOWTIME linear network will become “Paramount+ with SHOWTIME” in the U.S.

It’s a stunning move that marks the end of Showtime’s 47-year standalone identity as a premium cable channel. It also marks another evolution of the parent company formerly known as ViacomCBS, less than a year after it was also rebranded and restructured as Paramount.

A follow-up memo from McCarthy cited an emphasis on “Redirecting Investment into SHOWTIME Strengths,” saying:

As a part of Paramount+, we can put more resources into building out the lanes that have made the SHOWTIME brand famous[...]

...specifically mentioning “complex characters” and “powerful worlds” in scripted series like “Yellowjackets,” “Dexter,” and “Billions,” among others.

Conspicuously and completely absent from both the Bakish and McCarthy memos outlining both Showtime’s notable history and the vision for the future of Paramount+ with Showtime are the words “Sports” and “Boxing.”

It’s an ominous omission, given a line in McCarthy’s memo stating:

[W]e will divert investment away from areas that are underperforming and that account for less than 10% of our views.

That statement came out shortly before a second Deadline report that Showtime will not produce second seasons of original series “American Gigolo” and “Let the Right One In,” and will not proceed with the completed first season of “Three Women,” a new scripted series starring Shailene Woodley and Betty Gilpin, which will be shopped elsewhere.

The comments and moves are very reminiscent of similar transitions at HBO, which famously dropped boxing completely back in 2018 after 45 years and over 1,000 fights.

Then-VP of HBO Sports Peter Nelson said at the time: “Our audience research informs us that boxing is no longer a determinant factor for subscribing to HBO.” Not even two years later, Nelson joined boxing in the “formerly of HBO” category, as part of an ongoing disengagement from sports programming and layoffs of over 600 WarnerMedia/AT&T employees.

Since then, HBO and the streaming platform currently known as HBO Max have been part of a series of spinoffs, mergers, rebrandings, and reorganizations involving cancellations of existing properties, and the vaulting of completed projects never to be released for cost-savings and tax break benefits.

For a boxing fan, it’s all distressingly similar, only this time with boxing’s future unmentioned and unresolved, rather than eliminated at the start of the process. If the worst does come to pass, it would mark the end of almost 37 years of boxing on Showtime, and the last of boxing on premium linear cable channels in the United States.

The potential end of Showtime boxing would also have obvious second and third order effects on Al Haymon’s Premiere Boxing Champions, a primary Showtime broadcast partner and major content provider, and potentially the current boxing pay-per-view business model.

McCarthy’s memo announced a Feb. 23 company town hall meeting in Los Angeles with further details. Bad Left Hook will provide news and updates on what comes next for Paramount+ with Showtime, and whatever future boxing may have in connection with it, as details become available.

[stevec@france]

any business has to adapt and evolve to stay relevant or face a decline and certain death .

[Thomastearns]

Boxing is barely a sport these post Mayweather days, it's more of a pantomime.

As they say, whenever making predictions, follow the money.

The entire boxing industry no longer seems to believe it can ever be sold as a sport.

Fair enough, lets hope it's an entertaining pantomime with a little sport thrown in now and then.

[gilgamesh]

Boxing's niche crowd, just got a little more niche. That's what next.

[Perkin Warbeck]

Inactivity (only one fight per year) and too many mismatches with contenders avoiding each other (Crawford-Spence good example) are causing a decline in public interest in the sport of boxing.

Remember back in the days when everybody fought everybody? Leonard-Hagler, Hagler-Hearns, Leonard-Duran, Duran-Hearns, Duran-Hagler, etc.

[Evander]

Never know this could be a blessing in disguise.
If they decide to drop boxing due to underperformance, I know for one if I was involved in the sport it would be big wake up call.
So what does it really say to us ?
People aren't watching because of perhaps three things.
1. PPV fights have become the new normal and people don't want to pay for every fight.
2. Hardly anyone is prepared to take the big challenging fights like Anthony Yarde did this past weekend.
3. Many people are just not into the you tube channel so called fighters.
That pretty sums up where I stand on it and would be the reasons for the sports decline.
That can be changed quickly though but they have to be prepared to do it.
Boxing has the tools but getting the boxers to do it are another thing.
It's up to them but if they continue down this road I'm afraid to say it's going to be curtains for many.

[apollo creed]

Very good points.

There is no more big money to be made. Most probably they made a lot, I mean a lot of $. No point of losing money to air poor fights. So they're closing the store.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Inactivity (only one fight per year) and too many mismatches with contenders avoiding each other (Crawford-Spence good example) are causing a decline in public interest in the sport of boxing.

Remember back in the days when everybody fought everybody? Leonard-Hagler, Hagler-Hearns, Leonard-Duran, Duran-Hearns, Duran-Hagler, etc.

Yeh they all fight each other.

The so called new ‘kings’ ain’t fought each other and they been hyped for 3 years.

[Perseus]

Recently Oscar has been more optimistic about working with PBC than ever.
PBC coming to DAZN?

[HomicideHenry]

If the boxing organizations and promoters had any sort of brains they would just come together to create a boxing channel, kind of like how WWE has their vault of every classic match in every territory that Vince McMahon ever bought, that way you could get boxing matches 24/7 365 days a year from all around the world for one set price.

[daz74]

Recently Oscar has been more optimistic about working with PBC than ever.
PBC coming to DAZN?
[/quote

[p4p1]

If the boxing organizations and promoters had any sort of brains they would just come together to create a boxing channel, kind of like how WWE has their vault of every classic match in every territory that Vince McMahon ever bought, that way you could get boxing matches 24/7 365 days a year from all around the world for one set price.

and remove them from YouTube in the process? Henry, c'mon man, don't start putting these ideas in peoples heads.

[p4p1]

Let's be honest, Boxing as a package is shit. There is so much room for improvement. Unfortunately, with the way boxing is run and has been run for 40+ years there is no chance of the improvement ever coming.

[keithmoonhangover]

Inactivity (only one fight per year) and too many mismatches with contenders avoiding each other (Crawford-Spence good example) are causing a decline in public interest in the sport of boxing.

Remember back in the days when everybody fought everybody? Leonard-Hagler, Hagler-Hearns, Leonard-Duran, Duran-Hearns, Duran-Hagler, etc.

Everyone didn't fight everyone. Those four did, but not everyone. Larry Holmes didn't unify.

[DrDuke]

Inactivity (only one fight per year) and too many mismatches with contenders avoiding each other (Crawford-Spence good example) are causing a decline in public interest in the sport of boxing.

Remember back in the days when everybody fought everybody? Leonard-Hagler, Hagler-Hearns, Leonard-Duran, Duran-Hearns, Duran-Hagler, etc.

Everyone didn't fight everyone. Those four did, but not everyone. Larry Holmes didn't unify.

Holmes didn't have another great fighter in his era. He won Norton, after what he made himself a name. He needed an ancient Ali more than any of the B-level fighters around. He defeated some of the least, the rest didn't seem necessary.

[keithmoonhangover]

Inactivity (only one fight per year) and too many mismatches with contenders avoiding each other (Crawford-Spence good example) are causing a decline in public interest in the sport of boxing.

Remember back in the days when everybody fought everybody? Leonard-Hagler, Hagler-Hearns, Leonard-Duran, Duran-Hearns, Duran-Hagler, etc.

Everyone didn't fight everyone. Those four did, but not everyone. Larry Holmes didn't unify.

Holmes didn't have another great fighter in his era. He won Norton, after what he made himself a name. He needed an ancient Ali more than any of the B-level fighters around. He defeated some of the least, the rest didn't seem necessary.

At the time, some of them were rated as the #2 in the division, but Larry didn't face them.

[DrDuke]

Everyone didn't fight everyone. Those four did, but not everyone. Larry Holmes didn't unify.

Holmes didn't have another great fighter in his era. He won Norton, after what he made himself a name. He needed an ancient Ali more than any of the B-level fighters around. He defeated some of the least, the rest didn't seem necessary.

At the time, some of them were rated as the #2 in the division, but Larry didn't face them.

Still not that frustrating. He was favored over all of them without much questions. It's more frustrating, when a 50-50 matchup or close to it isn't happening, like Crawford vs Spence.

[ajrage1]

yeah really, boxing is still and will always be the #1 combat sport, all you mma fanboys keep pushing for it's decline..good luck with that

[KiwiRider]

any business has to adapt and evolve to stay relevant or face a decline and certain death .

It they were adapting to stay relevant, they would put on free to air shows with genuine 50/50 fights and the same on the undercard. Then they would be the most watched boxing entity on the planet.

[daz74]

Showtime merging into Paramount won’t change anything.
Boxing is doing just fine.
In just one month I’ve seen 3 X banging fights (Smith / Bertibiev / Rocha) and the MSG card this weekend is full of well matched fights. Loads more good fights being worked up for this year.

[JohnP2]

Boxing is incredibly inexpensive for networks to showcase. This compared to football, hockey, baseball, er Al. Basically you need a ring. The st’s it.
I imagine nothing will change. But…who knows. I imagine it depends on current revenue for Showtime in covering boxing. If it’s making money, they will keep (and even enhance) their coverage. Else they will go the HBO route.
Ironically these decisions come from a single person and his or hers “opinions”. This coming from someone who has held a leadership position in the corporate world for decades. It’s all smoke and mirrors.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Showtime actually make money off Boxing from the PPV’s.

Boxing and MMA the only sports that networks actually make money from.

[ldlamb]

Everyone didn't fight everyone. Those four did, but not everyone. Larry Holmes didn't unify.

Holmes didn't have another great fighter in his era. He won Norton, after what he made himself a name. He needed an ancient Ali more than any of the B-level fighters around. He defeated some of the least, the rest didn't seem necessary.

At the time, some of them were rated as the #2 in the division, but Larry didn't face them.

Are we really questioning Holmes reign where he was fighting 3 or 4 times a year for many straight years…just because he didn’t fight Michael Dokes….whatever.

[Evander]

Illegal streams did more for boxing globally than anyone else.

[keithmoonhangover]

Holmes didn't have another great fighter in his era. He won Norton, after what he made himself a name. He needed an ancient Ali more than any of the B-level fighters around. He defeated some of the least, the rest didn't seem necessary.

At the time, some of them were rated as the #2 in the division, but Larry didn't face them.

Are we really questioning Holmes reign where he was fighting 3 or 4 times a year for many straight years…just because he didn’t fight Michael Dokes….whatever.

Larry Holmes was my idol growing up and remains one of my favourite boxers of all time. But the truth is, he never fought Tate, Dokes, Coetzee, Witherspoon (rematch), Page, Thomas or Tubbs. I'm not saying he ain't a great fighter, because he was, he just didn't fight the best possible opponents. He lost the WBC title for not fighting Page and instead fought Marvis Frazier.