Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), is finding a successful way to grow and engage a digital generation of boxing fans with Facebook and Facebook Live. Facebook released a case study, crediting PBC with providing and creating a new home for a video savvy audience.
“Premier Boxing Champions’ innovative, data-driven content strategy has allowed them to connect more boxing fans with the content they love, by taking fans deep into the sport,” said Patrick Chapman, Facebook Sports Partnerships. “That comprehensive approach is driving exciting growth metrics across the board – a sure sign that fans like what they’re seeing.”
Providing a fan-first, behind-the-scenes home featuring highlight and training videos, the PBC page has cultivated an active audience bookended by a millennial generation and Boomer audience. With 70% of the PBC Facebook fans between 18-44, the series has found that it is providing and generating an audience that mirrors if not beats audience deliveries of traditional television and cable media.
“We’ve found that not only have we grown a digital audience via Facebook, but also we’ve increased tune-in for our PBC broadcasts through our Facebook promotions,” said Alex Balfour, Chief Digital Officer, Haymon Boxing. “Since starting our postings we have seen support escalate for the authentic fan experience. Views rise for the purity of the sport and performance in the ring, regardless of if the fighter is well known, a main event name or a fighter on the undercard. We know our PBC digital fans care about good fights and good fighters, and support watching and learning about results from the matches as well as training.”
In 2015, PBC on Facebook mirrored the strong PBC broadcast/cable audience deliveries, reaching a weekly audience of up to 10 million people. PBC began to post regular highlights on Facebook in the last quarter of 2015 with over 8 million complete views of its 30-second view highlight video clips, which are posted immediately following the broadcast. The most popular highlight video was the September 26 Wilder vs. Duphaus fight, while the October 16 Fonfara vs Cleverly fight on Spike sparked highest level of engagement. For more insights visit the report.
PBC is currently using Facebook Live to add another level of engagement to its audience.
On Saturday, March 12, PBC will broadcast an exclusive 12 round exhibition match featuring Porter meeting Lanardo Tyner via Facebook Live on PBC’s Facebook page. Held live at 7 p.m. PST from Porter’s Hy-Performance Center in Las Vegas, a Facebook Live Q&A with Porter and fans will follow the exhibition. Past PBC Facebook Live events have included behind-the-scenes training camp video, including one that reached almost 250k people with former three-division World Champion boxer Abner Mares. PBC had a reach of over 200k people participating in its innovative fighter-first live Q&A with Porter on February 1.
As a new brand offering programming across a variety of networks at many different times of day and days of the week, PBC’s challenge was to reach as many of the estimated 36M avid boxing fans in the U.S. as possible and to raise awareness among the estimated 100M casual boxing fans in the U.S.
Source: Nielsen L+SD 12/29/14-11/12/15 Boxing on all broadcast & cable including pay cable. Facebook
