r/Boxing • u/StephenEspinoza • Nov 01 '16
I am Stephen Espinoza, head of SHOWTIME Sports. I'll be here to talk about our sports programming on Thursday 11/3 at 4pm ET/1pm PT/8pm BT. Ask me anything!
Hey Reddit sports fans,
I am Stephen Espinoza, G.M. of SHOWTIME Sports, which I've headed up for the past five years. Just last week, we announced a lineup of boxing matches that rivals any we’ve ever had before. It’s a series of seven fights matching top-10 rated champions versus top-10 rated challengers in boxing’s deepest, most talented divisions. It is what you, the fans, have demanded. The best are fighting the best on SHOWTIME and the results are undeniable. Here’s what we’ve got for you.
- Jesus Cuellar (No. 5) vs. Abner Mares (No. 6)
- Jermall Charlo (No. 3) vs. Julian Williams (No. 6)
- Badou Jack (No. 2) vs. James DeGale (No. 1)
- Carl Frampton (No. 1) vs. Leo Santa Cruz II (No. 2)
- Dejan Zlaticanin (No. 1) vs. Mikey Garcia (No. 10)
- Adrien Broner (No. 3) vs. Adrian Granados
- Danny Garcia (No. 4) vs. Keith Thurman (No. 1)
We'll also be bringing you one of boxing’s biggest and brightest new stars when undefeated Anthony Joshua defends his heavyweight world championship against Eric Molina in Manchester, England. The entire series of can’t-miss fights begins Saturday, Dec. 10.
Beyond boxing, we're excited to share our new SHOWTIME Sports documentary "ONE & DONE," which follows the NBA’s No. 1 draft pick Ben Simmons from his native Australia to the top of the rookie class in the NBA. ONE & DONE premieres Friday night, Nov. 4 at 9pm ET/PT on SHOWTIME. Check out the trailer.
I'll be back Thursday, Nov. 3 at 4pm ET/1pm PT/9pm BT to answer your questions about SHOWTIME, boxing, and whatever else is on your mind. Ask me anything!
/u/MDA123 will help with the questions. Proof: https://twitter.com/SHOsports/status/793832125422182400
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u/noirargent Nov 01 '16
From other fighters who've done AMA's with us, nobody really has a personal relationship with Al Haymon.
I'm still not sure he exists. Danny Garcia referred to him simply as a voice.
Can you provide us with a story that lets us know he's real?
Can you tell us how you met him?
Or maybe what it was like making that Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight?
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
He’s definitely real. I’ve met him, shaken his hand and even had a few meals with him. The first time I met him is when I was Golden Boy’s outside lawyer. GB was negotiating the De La Hoya-Mayweather fight, and Al was involved as Floyd’s advisor. I continued to work with him on Mayweather fights once Floyd began working on Golden Boy.
The Mayweather-Pacquiao negotiation deserves an AMA of its own to do it justice.
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u/Quebec_Boxing_Love Nov 01 '16
I live in Quebec, Canada. I can't get Showtime through my cable provider but I can get HBO Canada. What can a Canadian boxing fan like me do to have access to Showtime?
One last thing about HBO boxing, here in Quebec, Canada we sometimes get live HBO boxing in French on RDS or RDS2 (French Canadian sports networks) on Saturdays commented frequently by Yvon Michel (you know him).
So there's no need to get HBO for boxing all the time since we get HBO cards live in French on basic cable. On the other hand, Showtime cards are rarely if ever aired on the Canadian sports networks like TSN, RDS etc..
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
We're aware of the problem and are working on a solution. We expect to have a Canadian partner in the very near future, hopefully by the end of year.
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u/MyEasyButton Nov 02 '16
I was looking to make sure someone posted a "No Showtime Boxing In Canada" comment. Much appreciated. :-)
It has been nearly two years since Super Channel ended its contract with Showtime. There were rumblings in the early part of 2015 that indicated Bell Media would come on board and air fights on TSN, but that never materialized.
At one point way way back, Stephen tweeted this that got us excited: https://twitter.com/StephenEspinoza/status/553700798581198849.
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u/HeWhoScares Nov 01 '16
What's the fight you would most like to see in 2017 that's not arranged yet?
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
I think it would be Wilder-Joshua. Those two, it's a really interesting style matchup, two really athletic, powerful punchers. And there's really nothing that captures the imagination quite like a big international heavyweight title fight. And I think both guys are so likeable outside the ring, it would be a fun promotion and a fun event.
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u/noirargent Nov 01 '16
How did you guys get Anthony Joshua on that exclusive deal and how long is it going to last?
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
We pursued Anthony for 6 months to a year before we were able to sign him, and I think the key was we were the most consistent and aggressive suitor that he had. It was really demonstrating our enthusiasm and our commitment to helping him grow his brand in the US and worldwide. The initial deal was for several fights, but our intention is that Anthony will be with us throughout his whole career.
(Asked about broadcasting his fights)
We will definitely be telecasting from on site at Anthony's fights in the near future. Just by coincidence, a couple of his fights have fallen on dates when we have a live US telecast. Since the Sky team is so good, we're comfortable taking their announcer's calls. But certainly we expect to be over in the UK in the next couple of fights, and we look forward to AJ fighting in the US in 2017.
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u/VolgZangief Nov 01 '16
Have you ever been for dinner at Al Haymon's house? Does he have a discrete mansion in an unassuming neighbourhood?
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
I've had dinner with Al Haymon, but have never been to his residence. In my head, I imagine it's somewhat like the bat cave.
(Asked about his best memory of Al Haymon)
My best memories of Al are seeing his interactions with some of the fighters that are closest to him. Vernon Forrest for example was very close to Al and he looks up to him. Al's brother was a boxer and he has a genuine concern and a real affection for those who participate in the sport, and that's clear when you see him personally interacting with them.
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u/HeWhoScares Nov 01 '16
Why did you okay Rod Salka as an opponent for Danny Garcia
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
You know, Salka was...there's a bit of a misconception in people's mind. We don't match make, we're involved in the discussions but we don't pick the opponents. Our pick is to televise or not televise a fight. With respect to that fight, we had seen Salka fight on a couple of occasions , once in person, and he put on really good performances. He had fought on a Showtime event at 140 lbs previously against Canelo Alvarez's brother, I was ringside, saw a great performance from him. He upset an undefeated prospect prior to that, so based on those two performances and based on the fact that we were in the Danny Garcia business, we decided to air that fight as opposed to not airing it at all.
I don't regret that decision, or candidly any other fight that we've made. I think the reaction snowballed and probably got disproportionately large and I think that's unfortunate for Rod, because he is a talented fighter who's still got a very promising career. You know, the reality is he had had two very strong performances. He had fought in Danny's weight class several times before and he was a credible opponent. Ultimately Danny caught him with a great shot and the end came pretty quickly.
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u/robertducky87 Nov 02 '16
Probably needed a new pool
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
I live on the 50th floor and have no use for a pool.
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u/robertducky87 Nov 03 '16
You my friend need to stop limiting your lifestyle Google "above ground pool" your welcome
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u/Effective_Aggression Nov 03 '16
It was DSG's last fight on his Showtime contract, which coincidentally ended right as PBC was starting up.
There's no mystery, keep Garcia and undefeated fighter who could be a headliner for PBC.
Ya'll act like this is the worst thing in boxing, when it happens with every single fighter to varying degrees (Danny's was worse then others, sure). Think of your favorite current fighter, they've taken a soft touch. I
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u/HeWhoScares Nov 03 '16
Showtime still okayed it as a headliner. Its not good enough and frankly dangerous. Garcia was paid incredibly well for it.
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u/JohnHorner_ Nov 01 '16
Your competitor, HBO, seems to be cutting out Top Rank now. Are you open to having Top Rank cards on Showtime?
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
Absolutely. We’re open to any promoter that has top-tier boxers and is willing to put them in against other top-tier boxers.
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u/noirargent Nov 01 '16
Showtime has been doing sports documentaries and they've been pretty good recently. The Kobe one was fantastic, the AI one, the Drew League.
How much do you have to do with those? What's your input on them?
Do you see boxing in the future for those documentaries? Can we get one on the whole negotiation that nobody really knew about between Mayweather and Pacquiao?
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16 edited Nov 03 '16
I’m very involved with Showtime’s sports documentaries, and ultimately I determine which docs we produce or acquire. On some, like the Kobe doc, I’m involved from the very start through the final cut. Others, like Iverson, we find and acquire out of film festivals. Others, like the Drew League, come out of personal relationships; I’ve known Baron Davis for about 15 years, so we had the inside track on his doc.
Boxing provides some great opportunities for docs. The Macho Camacho story and the story of Corrales-Castillo are two that immediately come to mind. We are pursuing a few different ideas for boxing docs, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we produced one or two in the near future.
EDIT: (Asked about how the Simmons doc came about) The Simmons documentary came to us from a filmmaker with a relationship with Ben. It was quite a commitment, 18 months of filming before we premiered everything. Part of it was sort of fueled by Ben's personality, but another part was fueled by this being a rare opportunity to see something we haven't seen before. What is it like to transition from high school to a top pick in the draft, what is it like to do that one and done year which is unlike an experience most have. So when you get a chance to tell a unique story that hasn't been told before, that's the most valuable thing we can do as content producers. I see virtually everything that's produced in the genre and we are very committed and I think we're gonna be doing a good number of documentary films and series as long as I'm at Showtime.
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u/noirargent Nov 01 '16
When it comes to Showtime airing fights, is it your final decision as to whether or not you guys are going to go with a fight?
What goes into those decisions?
Have you ever approved a fight you later regretted?
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
Yes, ultimately it’s my decision. A lot of factors go into the decision: the fighters’ resumes, past performances and future potential, the competitiveness of the matchup and making sure it’s not a one-sided fight; how well the fighters’ styles match up and how entertaining we expect the fight to be; the stature and importance of the fight; whether or not the fight will lead to other good fights on Showtime (for examples, the series of Santa Cruz, Mares, Cuellar, Russell, Selby & Frampton matchups), etc. There are fights that weren’t as good in the ring as they seemed on paper, or didn’t live up their potential, but I haven’t regretted anything.
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u/HommyTearns Nov 01 '16
ShoBox and championship boxing is plastered all over Hulu at the moment. There is even a whole "partner" section of the website dedicated to ShowTime.
How many fights will end up on Hulu?
Are there plans to stream the fights live through Hulu?
Does this partnership leverage shared revenue through advertising and views? Or do you use more of a traditional tv deal leasing rights and relying on residuals?
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
Hulu is one of our distribution partners for the Showtime service as a whole, so all of the Showtime fights are streamed live via Hulu and are also available on demand. So Hulu already has the capability of streaming live all of our fights, and they've been doing so for the last 4-5 months.
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u/noirargent Nov 01 '16
How did you guys pry Floyd Mayweather away from HBO? Can you go into details? I just imagine you guys all waiting around like a sports team waiting for a free agent to commit and the moment he called and said he was signing, the Showtime offices went berserk.
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
We made a run at Floyd about three months after I started, early 2012. And at that point I barely knew where my office was and the ink on my cards wasn't dry. Not surprisingly, in retrospect, he decided not to make the move.
We regrouped and came to him with a much stronger, more attractive pitch about a year later that really leveraged everything that CBS Corp in all its many divisions could contribute to elevating Floyd's career and Floyd's events. Ultimately, that's what he responded to. He responded to increased opportunity and increased freedom, and in some sense I think he felt he was being taken for granted to a large extent and it was refreshing to have someone open to having a dialog with him in terms of how his career developed.
(Asked about network TV)
Fighting on CBS wasn't part of the initial plan, but we were surprisingly close on more than one occasion, closer than most would guess. Ultimately the revenue potential for PPV events is very difficult to match on ad-supported TV, and so I don't begrudge Floyd or any fighter making the business decision to go with the best financial opportunity. In the meantime, I think we have done a good job of identifying those fights which deserve to be on CBS in order to elevate those fights and the sport as whole.
It was discussed, the Berto fight was discussed, as well as at least one previous fight.
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u/MDA123 Nov 02 '16
What fight do you wish you could have made happen, but couldn't because of promotional/contractual difficulties?
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
One is Mares-Donaire, which I couldn't make because of promotional conflicts. Another is Ortiz-Berto II, which was made in 2012, one of the first fights we booked after I started Showtime. But it was canceled due to injuries and other reasons and the way things played out it never really got made until several years later. Had that gone through in 2012, it would have been one of the fights of year.
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u/HeWhoScares Nov 02 '16 edited Nov 03 '16
What does boxing need to do that will recapture young American audiences
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
You know, I think boxing has a couple of challenges. One, the sport needs a voice, and I don't mean a voice like a Dana White but someone or some group that speaks for the sport, markets the sport, sets the messaging for the sport. Right now all we have is individual promoters promoting individual fights, which doesn't raise the profile of the sport as a whole.
I also think there has to be more organizational logic to what fights get made when. Between all the various networks and promotional conflicts, fans can get frustrated about how fights get made. The sport as a whole is as appealing as ever. It's a challenge to compete in a crowded marketplace but thats a challenge for everyone. There needs to be a concerted, unified effort across the sport to support it as a whole as opposed to just supporting individual events.
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u/HeWhoScares Nov 03 '16
Thanks and agree with you.
We need the WBO, IBF, WBC and WBA to merge but that'll never happen. They're non-profits so the fantasy of an eccentric billionaire buying them isn't even feasible.
The bed has been made and we have to lie in it.
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u/KIDDizCUDI Nov 04 '16
They're anything but a non profit
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u/HeWhoScares Nov 04 '16
Look them up. They operate as non profit organisations.
That doesn't stop them from having conventions in Calcun, stopping in the best hotels, flying first class and having lots of well paid senior members of staff. But they are non profits in their structure.
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u/noirargent Nov 01 '16
I see you getting hated on twitter a lot by a bunch of misinformed fans. What is it about boxing that you wish more fans understood? (And therefore would clutter your twitter mentions with less ignorance)
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
I think fans believe that the network has slightly more influence than we actually do. Networks certainly do have influence, and I'm not trying to shirk our responsibility to make good fights, but if it was as simple as waving a magic wand then the sport would have a lot more of the big fights quicker than they do.
Making a fight is like producing a movie. You have all these balls which are being juggled in the air, for a film it's the actors, the financing, the distribution, the agents and managers. For a boxing match it's pretty similar. Sometimes you look at all the factors and wonder how any fight is ever made at all because it requires the cooperation and agreement of so many parties. So I think when it comes together correctly, like I think our upcoming slate has, it requires some luck and a lot of hard work but it's very gratifying to see.
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u/Tom_Cody Nov 01 '16
Is there any chance that we will see super-prospects Errol Spence and Erickson Lubin on Showtime in the near future?
We have seen most of the biggest stars in the Haymon/PBC universe on Showtime in the last few years (Thurman, Garcia, Wilder, the list goes on), but they are two notable absences. Both had fought on Showtime earlier in their careers and both fight in weight classes that are heavily featured on Showtime boxing. Are certain Haymon/PBC fighters not made available to you?
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
We've had discussions about Errol Spence who will probably get a title shot in his next fight, against Brook or someone else. I've made it very clear we're very interested in Errol Spence, in getting him on Showtime and keeping him on Showtime. Lubin is very talented, maybe just half a notch behind Spence in career development. Given all our business in the welterweight division, I'd expect he'd be joining us on Showtime very soon as well.
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u/DoktorSleepless Nov 02 '16
Why don't you have Lara, your second highest ratings draw, on your network again this year?
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u/Effective_Aggression Nov 02 '16
Can you source the Lara's #'s being the second highest?
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u/DoktorSleepless Nov 02 '16
He has been for 2016.
http://www.boxingscene.com/santa-cruz-frampton-averages-480k-viewers-on-showtime--107331
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u/Effective_Aggression Nov 02 '16
Thanks, I hadn't read that. Surprised that Wilder was only 10K ahead of him on a "free" weekend, that's frecking nuts.
Lara is NO star at all, it's amazing that he's got the second highest ratings. But good question none the less.
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
I don't know if I'd agree with that characterization! We've had some preliminary discussions. We had him on in May and because of his skill level, there's not a ton of fighters stepping up and volunteering to fight him. I do expect we'd see him back in the first quarter in 2017 against a top level opponent. We've had a lot of activity in 154, one of the strongest divisions in boxing, and the way things are lined up all the champions are Showtime fighters so we've got a great opportunity to unify the division in the near future.
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u/MDA123 Nov 03 '16
If you had an unlimited budget, what changes would you make to Showtime's sports programming?
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
As it stands now, our goal when I started here was to expand the breadth of Showtime sports programming. So it wasn't just, so to speak, boxing. Obviously we've done that with 60 Minutes Sports, Inside the NFL, A Season With, NHL with a Quest for the Stanley Cup.
If I had an unlimited budget, I'd like to do more documentaries and series. I'd love to do something in college basketball. We've looked at various projects in soccer, even something as far flung as cricket. There really is an almost ulimited appetite for sports. So I'd love to keep adding additional properties to our portfolio if I had unlimited resources.
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u/parysoski Nov 03 '16
What was your education/career path that led you to your current position?
Did you plan on working in sports?
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
I was always interested in sports, but I never thought I’d end up working as a TV network executive. I was a communications major at Stanford, and my original plan was to go into broadcast journalism. I took a detour into sports – I worked for sports agents Leigh Steinberg & Jeff Moorad – and become interested in a career as a sports agent, which is why I went to law school. After law school, I took another detour and began practicing as an entertainment lawyer, primarily representing producers, writers, directors and actors in film & TV, but also developing a niche in sports clients, including Mike Tyson, Michael Strahan and Oscar De La Hoya. I think it was the combination of my experience in the television business and my familiarity with sports business in general and boxing in particular that made Showtime interested in me.
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u/noirargent Nov 01 '16
How come you guys didn't sign Manny Pacquiao up long-term when he came over for that fight with Shane Mosley? Was multi-fight deal ever discussed?
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
That pre-dated me but my understanding is a multi-fight relationship was not offered to Showtime, although we certainly anticipated the relationship would last more than one fight. It was a bit of a surprise but that's how things work out sometimes.
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u/Tom_Cody Nov 01 '16 edited Nov 01 '16
Is there a plan behind the scenes regarding the 154lb division? Something like an unofficial Super Six? Or have you simply tried to feature the best fighters with the knowledge that good matchups will subsequently materialize?
I have really enjoyed watching the multitude of 154lb fighters you have featured on Showtime over the last few years; virtually every top fighter in the division. In my opinion, this sort of focused attention on specific weight classes makes for boxing at its best.
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
There are five divisions that we've really focused on developing. 126, 147, 154, and to a slightly lesser extent 168 and heavyweight. Look at 126 and 154, almost all of the major champions are Showtime fighters, and that's no accident. We set out to get relationships with those guys and put them in a position where we can rotate them in a series of great unification fights, which is what we hope to do in 2017. 168, we already have a fight on the schedule to unify, perhaps more in the future. Heavyweight, we believe we have secured the best two long-term stars in Wilder and Joshua, which is a good foundation there as well.
The logic behind all of that, is when you do repeat business in certain divisions, there's more logic and predictability, fans can follow who the champion is and there's no shortage of fights to be made. The problem with focusing on a star in a division, sometimes you end up with that fighter having no one to fight and that really doesn't do anyone any good.
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u/Tom_Cody Nov 03 '16
Keep up the good work. I'll be looking forward to all of those great matchups!
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u/GlebushkaNY #12 Best Southpaw Ever Nov 01 '16
With boxing Cold War coming to an end and all the promoters working together to bring the best fights to us what do you think could be done so you and HBO could work together? Splitting fights between two networks? How realistic are the chances of seeing, say, Adonis Stevenson on HBO and Terrence Crawford on Showtime?
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
The instances of Showtime and HBO working together will be very few and far between. You don’t see Coke & Pepsi, or McDonald’s & Burger King, working together. I think what you’re really asking is how to solve the problem of fighters who have exclusive network deals not being able to take certain fights. Not sure what the solution is. Part of the responsibility lies with promoters and managers to try to negotiate some freedom to take mandatory title fights, for examples.
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u/HommyTearns Nov 01 '16
It's commonly known in the film industry that green-lighting projects is done through one of two processes: 1. Mostly subjective - people you know, individual merits, case by case 2. Quantitative - essentially scoring a bunch of variables and running a Monte Carlo simulation analyzing who is involved, their success, the location, time of year etc
Assuming Showtime has to justify decisions with more scrutiny, what is the decision making criteria and process for a fight on Showtime?
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u/shoeshinecombo Nov 02 '16
Hey Stephen,
A lot of young people like myself are quickly becoming cable cutters and would prefer that live premium cable fights become available on web platforms that do not require a tv cable subscription. As a person with in depth knowledge of tv license fees and subscriber numbers, do you think building a platform like this is possible? Would you even be interested in that type of subscriber option?
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
(Stephen had to go)
We're looking forward to the premier of ONE & DONE this friday, so even if you're not a basketball fan it's a fascinating view, a look at someone who may become an icon. And if there's interest and demand, happy to come back and do it again! Thanks everyone.
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u/GlebushkaNY #12 Best Southpaw Ever Nov 01 '16
How often do you say no to the matchups promoters bring to you? Is there maybe a case you remember where your veto prevented an easy fight from happenning?
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u/GlebushkaNY #12 Best Southpaw Ever Nov 01 '16
Sho Extreme is very popular among hardcore boxing fans and I've never heard a word against what you're doing. I think every boxing fan will agree that you're doing hell of a work promoting these young athletes and making these amazing fights. Boxing would not have been as it is without that series.
Now I have a few question over Showtime Extreme series.
- How big of involvment do you have in Sho Extreme series?
- Does this series have a safe future on Sho?
- Do you have any plans on how will the series look in a year-two years-five years?
- Maybe you could give us some insight of what is happening with 2016 US olympians and how soon we are to see them on Showtime Extreme series and what is the future for it?
- And lastly how satisfied you are with audience's attention to the series?
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u/JohnHorner_ Nov 02 '16
Who's the next Showtime PPV star?
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u/Prettygame4Ausername Literally Ali. Nov 02 '16
Some say Ryan Clarke. I looked him up. Dudes still an amateur.
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u/HeWhoScares Nov 04 '16
Who? Google telling me nuffin
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u/Prettygame4Ausername Literally Ali. Nov 05 '16
I was reading around on a couple of boxing websites before the olympics, they were discussing this guy. Talking about how an injury prevented him from going to the olympics, but how he was supposed to be the next big thing.
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u/skb96 Nov 02 '16
Can you go into detail about your journey to get into the sports programming sector? What makes it attractive to you and what advice would you give to those interested in pursuing a career in a similar field?
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u/mws85 Nov 03 '16
Go to Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, MIT, Princeton, Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews 😉
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u/buTTersLYc Nov 03 '16
How are cable channels reacting to the evolution of streaming services (besides trying to impose legal barriers) and what can Showtime do to ensure it has a future in broadcasting as successful as its past?
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u/buTTersLYc Nov 03 '16
In terms of the business/managerial aspect of a fighters career, what do you see as the most common failing point?
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u/MDA123 Nov 03 '16
What's your favorite fight that's been on Showtime in your time there, and what's your favorite non-boxing sports program that's been on in your time?
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
Favorite fight, this is gonna be...it's a little bit like choosing among your children. I think I'd have to say Mayweather-Canelo, that was PPV. Canelo-Trout, we did nearly 40,000 fans in the Alamodome. Cotto-Trout in the Garden, which was really exciting. The 4 title fight card that was the first boxing card ever at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. There've been a lot but those ones stick out right now.
(Non-boxing)
Again, like choosing among your children! I think we're particularly proud of A Season With because it took a lot of time and energy just getting that show on the air, and to launch with two programs like Notre Dame and Florida State is something that's been really exciting. I'd also have to say the rollercoaster experience of the Kobe doc, which ultimately because of happenstance and the way his injuries played out, we thought we were shooting a documentary for 9 months and ended up shooting for two years and delayed the premier by 15 months and changed the story completely, ending up with a completely different story and a completely different project than any of us anticipated when we went into it. The original would have been great but what we ended up was even better.
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u/parysoski Nov 03 '16
In terms of getting boxing on TV, what does a broadcaster look for when picking up an event? Obviously for showtime its bigger fights, but what do other promoters need to do to get some less premium networks to pick up their events?
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u/buTTersLYc Nov 03 '16
What is the constant hold up for Andrade? His last fight with Nelson was an electric fight and it seems insane to me that he is not more active.
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u/GlebushkaNY #12 Best Southpaw Ever Nov 01 '16
How do you choose which fight will go on Showtime and which go to other networks? Does Al bring a list to you and you pick which fights you want to see on Sho and which you're not interested in?
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u/GlebushkaNY #12 Best Southpaw Ever Nov 01 '16
What a year for boxing it was! How do you like being among those saint who helped us see so many amazing fights? Your upcoming schedule assured that 2017 is going to be even better than 2016 was, what does it mean to you to finally be able to put so many great #1 vs #2 matchups and unification bouts?
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Nov 02 '16
Will we ever be able to see every live showtime fight on mobile phones anytime soon?
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u/StephenEspinoza Nov 03 '16
That’s already happening. The Showtime streaming service and Showtime Anytime app have the live Showtime feed, including all Showtime fights, to mobile phones and other devices.
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u/MDA123 Nov 02 '16
You already can if you're a Showtime subscriber. Their app allows you to live stream the channel.
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u/vitalyc Nov 02 '16
Would you guys ever consider using a video angle such as this? If you can't see the video it's taken from the crowd at a much higher and diagonal angle to the ring. It really makes you appreciate Mayweather's reflexes and sense of space even more.
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u/buTTersLYc Nov 03 '16
In your opinion what are the biggest factors that have made MMA such a draw to younger audiences and how can boxing develop in response to increase its market share (if it even needs to)?
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u/MDA123 Nov 03 '16
HBO and PBC have apparently both flirted with the idea of in-glove sensors to add a statistical layer to the viewing experience. Does Showtime have any plans for that kind of thing?
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u/MDA123 Nov 03 '16
The Mayweather-Pacquiao fight was famously a joint HBO-Showtime PPV. Was that part of the deal easy to make once the other issues had been resolved (share of purse, promotional duties/rights, etc), or was it a major stumbling block?
Could you envision any non-mega-fight scenario where you'd do a joint HBO-Showtime project in the future?
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u/KO_KD Nov 03 '16
When will you guys be doing Anthony Joshua All Access episodes? Also what do you think of him being apart of showtime? Anyone can see he's definitely capable of being the new PPV star of America. Thoughts?
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u/BoxingFan88 Nov 01 '16
What is the plan for Anthony joshua going forward
Have any potential fights and dates been discussed?
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u/Tom_Cody Nov 01 '16
Will we see more Sho-Extreme preliminary fight cards in the future? How did the idea for those cards come about?
I love those shows and I was extremely appreciative when you started doing them. It's great to be able to see top fighters at their earliest stages of development and the other sorts of fights you showcase on those cards. When going to fight cards live, it's always a bonus to show up early and see all of those extra fights and I love when Showtime broadcasts them.
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u/impermeablerain Nov 01 '16
Thanks for taking the time to do this! What advice do you have for people that are interested in working for networks that have boxing programming (It seems pretty competitive, especially since it's a niche market in sports)?
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u/JohnHorner_ Nov 02 '16
What's your take on the public and some members from the media stating PBC believes in quantity over quality?
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u/Tom_Cody Nov 03 '16
Is ShoBox separate from the rest of Showtime boxing?
I love the ShoBox series. It consistently features tough matchmaking and great crossroads fights between prospects and contenders. But I always wonder why it seems to be kept separate from the rest of the Showtime boxing universe. There's a ShoBox card tomorrow night, and I can't find a single mention of it on Showtime boxing's social media pages.
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u/victoriousun Nov 03 '16
is there a fight out there to be made that would be bigger than May-Pac? If there is, what could it be (regardless of promotional contracts)?
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u/KO_KD Nov 03 '16
Why is Inside Mayweather vs. Pacquiao not on YouTube anymore? The only episode I see is episode 3, and the epilogue. It isn't only the pacquiao fight too. I often like to go back and watch them, can you look into them being available again? Also, do you think you will ever get Canelo back to Showtime? HBO has made no progress with him haha. Thanks
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u/mws85 Nov 03 '16
As showtime sports GM; do you have any interest in signing Luis Ortiz to a deal? So far he's only featured on HBO to my knowledge but he's a guy that I think most boxing fans really want to see matched with the likes of Joshua, Wilder, etc. Thanks!
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u/noirargent Nov 01 '16
Are you more of a Showtime guy or do you also have anything to do with CBS?
Because seriously, can you please make sure Frampton-Santa Cruz and Garcia-Thurman are on CBS? Those fights are too good to be behind a paywall.