Arum Hopes To Get Network TV Exposure For Pacquiao-Hatton Bout
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Arum Hopes To Put Pacquiao-Hatton On
Showtime, Get CBS To Promote Bout |
Top Rank Chair Bob Arum said that it is "no slam dunk to believe" the May 2 Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton bout "will be televised on HBO pay-per-view," according to Lance Pugmire of the L.A. TIMES. Arum, who "continues plotting to get boxing back to network television by arranging sponsors to buy the network's advertising time," said that he "likes the idea of having Showtime distribute Pacquiao-Hatton on pay-per-view with its parent company CBS advertising the bout or even airing a pre-fight show like HBO has done with its '24/7' reality series." Arum: "We're free to negotiate with Showtime for this fight, and we will next week in New York. This is being talked about seriously. In order for boxing to prosper, it has to be on free network TV. CBS, because of its relationship with Showtime, is best positioned to be the network that does this." Arum added CBS Corp. President & CEO Les Moonves is a "huge fight fan" (LATIMES.com, 1/5). SPORTINGNEWS.com's Dave Larzelere wrote Pacquiao-Hatton, "without question, [is] going to be a pay-per-view event, whether it’s on HBO or Showtime. ... What Arum is talking about is a matter of promotion and who will air the now essential 24/7-like hype series leading up to the fight." Arum believes CBS, Showtime's parent company, may "get involved in promoting a Pacquiao/Hatton PPV and even potentially air an episode or two of a 24/7-like show devoted to the fight." Larzelere wrote it is "hard not to suspect that all of Arum’s Showtime talk isn’t just a negotiating ploy to gank HBO for its bank." But presuming Arum "really is exploring the CBS/Showtime alliance as a venue for boxing, there are still a lot of questions to be answered, the foremost being, 'Exactly how much of its precious air-time and promotional space is CBS going to devote to a boxing match?'" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 1/6).
ADJUST YOUR DIAL: ESPN.com's Dan Rafael reports Arum said that his company has sized a new deal with Spanish-language TV station Azteca America, which will see Top Rank cards "become regular and plentiful on Azteca America, which reaches 89[%] of the total Hispanic population in the U.S." Arum said that the "exact number of shows hasn't been determined, but it looks like 'as many as 52 or as little as 36' in 2009." Top Rank, "which has a heavily Hispanic roster of fighters, promoted most of Telefutura's cards" in the past, including 24 events last year (ESPN.com, 1/6).
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