NBC is not the only network to air boxing this year as CBS will have two events featuring Olympic fighters turning pro after London. CBS, in conjunction with Showtime and Golden Boy Productions will air two shows on Sunday, October 14th and Saturday, December 15th.
Bad Left Hook reports that the shows will be produced by Showtime and air on CBS so its likely we’d basically see a ShoBox-like event on the network.
Boxing Insider has the Golden Boy press release:
Golden Boy Promotions, SHOWTIME Sports and CBS Sportswill team up to showcase standout boxers from the 2012 Summer Olympic Games making their professional debuts live on the CBS Television Network. The initial live boxing broadcasts, which will be produced by SHOWTIME Sports, include two dates, Sunday, October 14 and Saturday, December 15 with additional dates to follow.
Payout Perspective:
Good news for the sport and nice strategy to ease the sport back onto network television. The shows will take advantage of the Olympians bounce from coming off of the Summer Games so there will be some interest from viewers. Also, we assume that the fighters will come at a low cost since they will be starting out their careers as opposed to established fighters that would demand much more in terms of fight purse. For Golden Boy, its a low risk investment as they would be picking and choosing the fighters to recruit for the event. Being on national network television would be an incredible opportunity for a young fighter starting out in terms of exposure.
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