HBO Outbids Showtime For Rights To May 2 Hatton-Pacquiao Bout
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Arum (r) Says HBO Will Air
Hatton-Pacquiao Bout On PPV |
Top Rank Chair Bob Arum Sunday said that HBO will air the May 2 Ricky Hatton-Manny Pacquiao fight on PPV, and that part of the deal includes another edition of reality series "24/7," according to Dan Rafael of ESPN.com. Arum indicated that he also had been "weighing an offer from Showtime," and he said that "part of the proposed deal with Showtime -- which hasn't been seriously involved in the pay-per-view business for several years -- was that CBS would run weekend preview shows in the weeks leading up to the fight." Rafael noted Arum has been "infatuated with the idea of having a broadcast network such as CBS involved in the marketing and promotion of the fight," but Arum also "recognized that HBO has helped him and Golden Boy [Promotions] put on many of the sport's biggest fights." Arum added that Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer "also thought HBO's deal was better." Arum: "It's been resolved and I agreed to the deal. Nobody put a gun to my head. I know what HBO can do, but I thought it was a marvelous opportunity to take boxing in a new direction by getting (the fight promoted) on network television." Schaefer: "No disrespect to Showtime, but HBO is the leading platform when it comes to boxing on pay-per-view. It's as simple as that" (ESPN.com, 2/8).
RING TOSS: MULTICHANNEL NEWS' R. Thomas Umstead reported Top Rank on February 21 will "offer a unique pay-per-view boxing event" featuring Miguel Cotto-Michael Jennings and Kelly Pavlik-Marco Antonio Rubio, with each fight "originating from different cities." The fight card will begin with Cotto-Jennings at MSG, followed by Pavlik-Rubio from Youngstown, Ohio. Arum said that the event is the "first of six potential PPV boxing shows" in '09 that Top Rank will distribute "without the marketing and distribution punch of HBO." Arum believes that Top Rank has the "knowhow and expertise to perform such back-end duties on its own for mid-range PPV boxing events." Umstead noted Top Rank last year "distributed several small events targeted to Hispanics" (MULTICHANNEL.com, 2/7).
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