Ethan Miller - Getty Images
BoxNation will be the UK carrier for the May 5 fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Miguel Cotto. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Frank Warren's BoxNation channel has secured the UK television rights to the May 5 bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Miguel Cotto, which could go a long way toward establishing the subscriber network and its currently rocky outlook for the future.
BoxNation launched in full in September of last year, and thus far has had a consistent, very good schedule of fights, including domestic bouts with Warren's fighters, shows from Sauerland Event, and several notable cards from the United States.
Mayweather vs Cotto is, by far, the biggest fight on the global stage that the nation has aired thus far, and could help with what has reportedly been a tough go thus far for the network, which has apparently had less subscribers than anticipated, and possibly less than can keep the network afloat much longer. That's not official, for the record, just the scuttlebutt.
If Mayweather vs Cotto can help to lure people to the brand, will they simply pay £10 for a month and catch the big fight (which airs early in the morning live) or stick around long-term?
It's a gamble as an investment for the network, but one they just might have to be willing to risk if there's going to be any long-term future at all.
0 recs | 32 comments
Someone who has this channel please enlighten me… how does it work? What do they show all week long? Honestly, I love boxing, but I can’t understand the concept of a 24/7 boxing channel.
Apprentice - February 14, 2012
From what I can gather, classic fights, recent cards, etc. They also do some original programming. Steve Bunce has a weekly boxing talk show.
Scott Christ - February 14, 2012
I’m ambivalent towards this…
Apprentice - February 14, 2012
More recent cards than classic fights.
The only od ones they have shown so far have been old Frank Warren shows.I’m glad i subscribed though. it’s worth it for the live boxing alone, imo, plus they will probably increase the archive library as/if they start making money.
Matt Mosley - February 14, 2012
They show some awful stuff. The filler content is appalling: essentially just re-runs of Warren shows over the last five, six years. Recent fights are played over and over and over again. Personally, I feel like the network should have done more to get access to shows like “Legendary Nights” – heck, it should have produced its own version with Bunce – and should be showing midweek shows from Japan etc. Right now, there is absolutely nothing enticing other than the fights (that is, unless you like hearing Bunce speak on his own for an hour once a week).
Oli Goldstein - February 14, 2012
I love listening to Bunce argue with himself. It’s fantastic.
Scott Christ - February 14, 2012
Ha! I used to feel the same way, but he just annoys me now. He was great covering the Cotto-Margarito II card, though: watching him get more and more tired throughout the night was hysterical. By the end, his eyes were totally bloodshot and his inane rambling was even more inane than usual. Still, at least he’s passionate for the sport, I suppose.
Oli Goldstein - February 14, 2012
could any one help me, im workin in austria and they don’t have hbo or boxnation where i have looked and im not a fan of streaming from the net?
Bald-Eagle - February 14, 2012 via mobile
do you have access to pay per view? if not, i really don’t know what to tell you.
Brandon Rico - February 14, 2012
yes
Sky europe is available but i haven’t subscribed to it as im not sure if HBO is available. Pay per view is available from a couple of providers so what is the next step from there?
Bald-Eagle - February 14, 2012
Streaming from the net is not a bad option
honorablecbm - February 14, 2012 via iPhone app
what streaming sites do you reccomend?
Bald-Eagle - February 14, 2012
let's cut this off here
Not allowed.
Scott Christ - February 14, 2012
This seems like a smart move from Warren. Boxnation has a 6 month minimum contract, so I’d imagine they’ll get a lot of new subscribers now, with people wanting to see the upcoming Chisora and Cleverly fights, knowing that they’ll get this fight thrown in as well.
Having said that, Mayweather isn’t quite as popular in the UK as he seems to be in the US, and that combined with the nasty start times of US fights might mean this gets ignored by a lot of the punters.
Randomperson - February 14, 2012
You’re right about the six month contract; whether that is actually a help or a hindrance, though, is certainly debatable. The editor of Boxing Monthly, Glyn Leach, was tweeting about this quite a lot yesterday: by the looks of some of his followers, plenty of people won’t sign up because they feel they’re essentially paying for just Cotto-Margarito II and Mayweather-Cotto. That, in essence, is the problem with the channel – it’s designed to appeal exclusively to “hardcore” fans, but there aren’t really enough around to sustain it. Britain has no problem with a boxing fanbase and it’s still a sport that gets some degree of national attention; however, there aren’t that many people past the diehard fan who are willing to pay what amounts to £60 quid over six months for a load of fights they aren’t going to watch.
As for Mayweather’s popularity here, you’d be surprised. When Floyd held a public training session at the Peacock Gym in London, the place was literally filled to the brim, while hundreds and hundreds of people showed up outside to see the guy. He’s a big deal here, and seen in a very different light to how he is in America. The domestic violence doesn’t get any press coverage, so Mayweather is still seen in the public domain as one of the two outstanding fighters worldwide. There’s a reason why he’s always enthused about possibly fighting at Wembley Stadium.
Oli Goldstein - February 14, 2012
BoxNation is cheaper than my HBO and Showtime subscriptions per month, and sometimes they’ve got fuck all. HBO had zero fights from December 10 until February 4, Showtime hasn’t had better than a ShoBox since December 17.
Then there are the $50-70 PPV shows, plus extra cable added on to my package so that I can see fights on smaller networks when I have the time to watch them live.
I’m not saying “oh poor you” all sarcastically or anything, I’m just comparing. The expectations of fights being brought to the public seem so different between UK and US fight fans. We’re just buried in the idea that if you want to see boxing, you are going to pay a lot of money for the privilege.
Scott Christ - February 14, 2012
Oh yeah, you guys have got it infinitely worse, particularly with the PPV – at least you get good TV provided on HBO (not sure what Showtime offer) to go with the boxing. I really, really think the packaging of boxing in America is something of a travesty; I mean, if these promoters wonder why their shows aren’t as popular, they’ve only got to look at the ludicrous fees the general public has to pay for “regular” fights and “big” fights. We were still seeing a lot of boxing for free up to about five years ago, so yeah, the expectation is dramatically different. Add in the fact that Sky won’t show PPVs exclusively because it featured three bad shows in the last 18 months – which still all sold very well – and it’s clear quite how enormous the gap is between the products we’re both served. Biggest difference, I guess, is that “world title fights” can be televised far more frequently in the States; here, we primarily watch the domestic scene and then go cock-a-hoop when a British world champion comes along.
Oli Goldstein - February 14, 2012
What's sad is...
In order to follow boxing in the US it’s expected you dish out all that money. Just buying 2 PPVs and HBO every month is $300/year for a casual boxing fan. I know I spent over $700 in 2011 just to watch fights on TV. It’s asinine. Every other major sport in the US you can watch the local games and some national games with a standard cable/satellite subscription. The TV situation boxing has is a huge hindrance to the sport truly growing. The NFL could theoretically go PPV and probably make more money initially but it would be killing itself in the process.
BangBangLampley - February 15, 2012
Personally, my feeling is that Warren will soon make certain Box Nation fights available for both subscribers and as a PPV option.
If enough people aren’t subscribing, all he has to do is make Mayweather-Cotto and other “big” fights available on a PPV option at, say, £7.50 a go, and ensure that he’s pulling in fans outside the hardcore circle.
Oli Goldstein - February 14, 2012
The smartest way to go IMO
Sweet science - February 14, 2012
Sky
BoxNation is a good idea but with it being an extra £10 a month it just seems that extra step too far when people are paying for Sky+HD already which is £70 per month. It has some good fights on over the next 2-3 months and if there was no minimum contract attached to it, I would definitely consider buying it for the next two months but seeing as I would have to commit to a further 4 months on top of that it doesn’t seem worth paying £60 for about 4/5 fights that I want to see. The fights like Chisora/Vitali, Macklin/Martinez, Cleverly/Karpency etc. would normally have been on a Sky Saturday Fight Night which made it more accessible to the British public and a better way of promoting British boxing. BoxNation is, if anything taking the best fights and fighters away from the majority of boxing fans that aren’t ‘die hard’.
JT64 - February 14, 2012
I just think that they should really hurry up and offer an online subscription. £10 a month without the necessity of paying for Sky/Virgin media would be a good deal. It makes no sense really considering that when they originally launched the channel they were showing the fights online! If Primetime are capable of doing online streams that work, why can’t Boxnation?
Eoin_not_ian - February 14, 2012
Oh, the online thing is pissing me off endlessly. I signed up pretty much because the website promised, back in early December, that they’d be showing fights online again very soon. Right now, it still says exactly the same thing. Bit of a con, if you ask me.
Oli Goldstein - February 14, 2012
Yeah. For me the potential for it to be an online subscription would have allowed it to become a potential gamechanger. No need for Sky or Virgin media subscriptions, far more potential subscribers (ie students/other people with not much money who love boxing/combat sports but can’t afford much in the way of tv packages). A missed opportunity for me, especially since ESPN (and the UFC it brings) is available on freeview.
I really do want it to succeed but I have always seen the channel as likely to go the way of Setanta, where the channel folds and Warren brings his fighters back to Sky.
Eoin_not_ian - February 14, 2012
Good to see Sky have picked up
the Alexander – Maidana card and the Erick Morales – Danny Garcia one too.
I thought Boxnation might have got in for one of them but they obviously only had eyes for Mayweather.
Sky stepping up once again…………………….and BN not doing too badly either. :)
Main thing, boxing heads get to see most of the big fights.
Matt Mosley - February 14, 2012
Sky also showing Martinez – Macklin (on the same night as Brook – Hatton), although that one was pretty easy to predict.
Matt Mosley - February 14, 2012
thats not March 11th is it?
Man has gotta stag do to attend :)
Sweet science - February 14, 2012
March 17
Scott Christ - February 14, 2012
Nice one
Sweet science - February 14, 2012
Pleasantly surprised to see their schedule the other day, they’ve been poor since Warren left IMO.
Shitali Klitschko - February 14, 2012 via mobile
I almost wonder if their subscriber numbers are in the toilet...
and this is a last ditch effort. I’m sure they paid out the ass for this fight and really need something to get their numbers up. I love the idea of a 24/7 boxing network myself, but I see the limits in it’s viability (especially as a premium network).
BangBangLampley - February 14, 2012
Floyd/Ortiz did over 60k buys here on Primetime. Take into account that it was on at around 5/6am and cost £15 on an obscure channel and it makes you realise what a draw Mayweather is…
Smart move by BoxNation.
Shitali Klitschko - February 14, 2012 via mobile
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