ESPN and Top Rank have officially signed an exclusive multimedia agreement for live TV fights on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, as well as for fights to be streamed on the ESPN app and soon-to-be-launched OTT plaform. Top Rank content also will be aired in Canada via TSN (English) and RDS (French). The next card will be Sept. 22, headlined by bouts involving Oscar Valdez and Gilberto Ramirez. CAA advised Top Rank on the deal and will manage Top Rank's sponsorship sales efforts, working closely with ESPN (ESPN). ESPN.com's Dan Rafael reported the four-year deal, which was first reported in June, would "include the Nov. 11 rematch" between Manny Pacquiao and Jeff Horn, which is "still being finalized." The deal with Top Rank "makes ESPN a major player in boxing for the first time in its history." It is also "possible that some cards could air" on ABC. There are 18 fights scheduled for the "first year of the deal," with at least three more slated for the rest of '17. Top Rank President Todd duBoef "spearheaded the deal and worked closely" with ESPN President John Skipper and Exec VP/Programming & Scheduling Burke Magnus. The sides "shook hands on the deal in mid-July." While duBoef said that premium cable nets like HBO and Showtime have "done a great job with boxing for decades, their limited availability ... stunted the public's access to the sport" (ESPN.com, 8/26). The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Marisa Guthrie noted the deal means that boxing will have a "major presence on linear television for the first time in decades rather than funneling its top bouts" to PPV. Meanwhile, Magnus said that the Top Rank library of content "will be a way for Disney to 'keep the lights on' at the OTT service on a year-round basis" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 8/26).
LOOKING FOR NEW DANCE PARTNERS: In Omaha, Tony Boone reported the new ESPN-Top Rank deal should assure that light welterweight champ Terence Crawford "continues to perform on TV," but the exclusivity of the deal "could limit the potential opponents" for him. Crawford has said that he "intends to move up to welterweight, where some of the biggest names compete." However, many of those boxers are advised by longtime Bob Arum rival Al Haymon, whose "stable of Premier Boxing Champions talent has been appearing on other networks" (OMAHA WORLD-HERALD, 8/27).
