Fox Sports yesterday announced it has reached a multiyear, multimedia agreement with Golden Boy Promotions to provide live boxing content in the U.S. and internationally. Golden Boy fights will be carried on Fox Deportes, Fox Sports RSNs and Fuel TV, with the first U.S. event scheduled for May 4. During the first year of the partnership, Fox Deportes is scheduled to air a total of 44 live events originating in both the U.S. and Mexico, and 36 live events every year thereafter (Fox Sports). In this week's SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, John Ourand notes Fox' agreement with Golden Boy comes on the heels of the net's UFC deal last year, and "shows a commitment to boxing and mixed martial arts programming" on the net's smaller cable channels. Negotiations "started late last year," and while terms "were not disclosed," sources said that Fox will "pay a six-figure rights fee" to Golden Boy for the events. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer said that the deal "runs for 15 months, with mutual options to extend it multiple years." The deal "is significant for boxing, as it shows that the sport still can command a rights fee." Schaefer said that "not too long ago, the only way boxing would appear on basic cable would be to forgo the rights fee" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/23 issue).
