Earlier this week Top Rank Boxing and truTV announced a deal that would put boxing on the Turner Network starting with live fight cards on Friday, May 1st.
truTV is best known for running men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament games during March. Otherwise, most sports fans would not know of the network’s existence.
The series will hold 8 card this year and will be “in association with Turner Sports and HBO Sports” per ESPN. For those wondering, HBO and Turner are under the same umbrella owned by Time Warner.
HBO will promote the series and the first three events (May 1st, May 8th and May 15th) on truTV will de facto serve as promotional tolls for bigger fights put on by HBO the next day.
Turner Sports will assist in marketing and producing the series. The broadcast team is not known at this point although it will be provided by Turner Sports and/or Top Rank.
truTV is in 89.7 million households according to TV by the Numbers.
Payout Perspective:
Another boxing series on television although this was does not involve Al Haymon. The series may compete with SpikeTV’s lineup of combat sports (which include’s Haymon’s PBC) and the new line of boxing coming up later this year on ESPN. With all the boxing that has been announced this year, it’s hard to fathom a network not carrying the sport. Is there a point where there is too much boxing? While I do see the benefit of running live events to further promote bigger events, one would have to wonder if these truTV cards would be only for the most ardent boxing fan.
d says
WSOF > Tru Tv Top Rank Cards. HAHAHAHA!
The Greatest says
These aren’t goin to feature star fighters but up and comers and journey men.
So im not expecting much but its always good to see boxing takin over cable.
By the way this isn’t a time buy.
Saldathief says
Bahaha here is the deal that you dont know. Sponsors from maypac are being persuaded to sponsor other top rank ventures. Its a win win for scum bag bob hahahhaha
Gambino says
WSOF isn’t even close to being on the same level. Their best fighter only earns about $35k, even with bonuses and sponsors Jake Shields still makes uner $100 k. All of the main event fighters that are scheduled to fight on TruTv will easily make 6 figures. That isn’t my opinion, they’re already getting paid that much. With all the international talent featured on these cards Top Rank will also get good money from foreign tv rights.
BrainSmasher says
What the hell does the fighter pay have to do with anything? Are you 12 years old? No one watches a fight and bases the quality and entertainment value on the fighters pay. A pay they won’t even know for days after the event. MMA fighters could fight for free and it would still blow away boxing. It would make them more hungry to fight, give promoters more money for production. Have fun with your pansy pillow fighting!
I love how boxing fans resort to fighter pay as a real statistic. It shows how shitty the sport is they have no other argument. Maybe the peanut vendor makes more too hahahaha!
tops E says
Another tv deal for boxing hahahahaha
Gambino says
If you want to talk about real statistics then let’s compare ratings then. WSOF on NBCSN averages 214,000 viewers. According to TV by the Numbers Top Rank’s “Solo Boxeo” series on UniMas averages well over 300,000 viewers. It would only be reasonable to expect boxing on TruTV to get about twice as many viewers as WSOF seeing how their already getting destroyed in the ratings by a low quality, late night, tape delayed boxing show on a fringe spanish network.
d says
“Their best fighter only earns about $35k, even with bonuses and sponsors”
HAHAHA!! You are really good at fact checking. What’s that, like your 50th false statement. All you’d have to do is lookup the last event they had with a no named headliner that pocketed 60k.
http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/WSOF-19-Salaries-Justin-Gaethje-Earns-EventHigh-3660000-Paycheck-84141
“All of the main event fighters that are scheduled to fight on TruTv will easily make 6 figures. That isn’t my opinion, they’re already getting paid that much. With all the international talent featured on these cards Top Rank will also get good money from foreign tv rights.”
What I was talking about was ratings, but regardless, you should provide a source that backs up your questionable statements.
d says
This is all you have to know to understand the significance of this deal:
“truTV is best known for running men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament games during March. Otherwise, most sports fans would not know of the network’s existence.”
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Gambino says
That 60k paycheck you’re talking about included a 30k win bonus. His actual salary is 30k. Jake Shields, in the reference I made earned 30k salary plus 35k win bonus. So no I was not wrong, I was only talking about guaranteed money and not bonuses. As far as ratings are concerned you can find WSOF ratings on this very website and for Top Rank boxing on UniMas I used this article http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/08/21/boxeo-telemundo-ford-2014-summer-season-was-the-number-one-boxing-show-on-television/295611/
They only provide the numbers for their summer 2014 shows which averaged 360,000 viewers. None of their summertime shows are anything out of the ordinary so I assume that every other card averages similar viewership. Any way you look at it Top Rank boxing >>WSOF.
d says
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! He still made 60k. Who cares what the upfront money was? That was part of his contract. Cherry picking stats is all you have.
UniMas is not Trutv. Nice try.
I was talking about your claims of the pay for those fighters. You claimed the following: ” All of the main event fighters that are scheduled to fight on TruTv will easily make 6 figures. That isn’t my opinion, they’re already getting paid that much. ”
If that isn’t your opinion, why don’t you validate that with a source to back up your claims.
“Any way you look at it Top Rank boxing >>WSOF.”
Creating your own argument. HAHAHAHA!
The Greatest says
The tru tv card will feature a lightweight bout between #8 Raymundo Beltran vs #22 Takahiro Ao.
Raymundo made $85k a couple fights ago against Arash Usmanee but i know he made 6 figures to fight Terence Crawford last November.
I wouldn’t expect crazy viewership for these fights but itll still probably hit at least 500k viewers which is better than wsof.
d says
The Gayest!!!