NBC drew a 2.5 overnight rating for the debut of "Premier Boxing Champions" last night from around 8:30-11:00pm ET. The rating increased every half hour and peaked at a 3.0 rating during the last half hour of the Robert Guerrero-Keith Thurman bout. The fight helped NBC to a primetime win among adults 18-49. For comparison, the 2.5 overnight was well ahead of NBC’s 1.0 overnight for Rangers-Flyers in primetime last Saturday night. The number was closer to NBC’s Saturday primetime coverage of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Jan. 24, which drew a 2.3 (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
Boxing manager Al Haymon "picked the right fighters for the inaugural main event," as Thurman and Guerrero "put on a 12-round pitched battle that left the crowd of 10,106 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on its feet and roaring during the furious final moments" (BOSTON HERALD, 3/8). Haymon "could scarcely have dreamed of such a positive outcome," as the main event "was everything needed to appeal to the masses and get them to come back for more." NBC's boxing series "is off to a flying start" (USATODAY.com, 3/8).
