HBO Boxing-ESPN Deal Launches with Chavez Jr. vs. Martinez Pay-Per-View Event on Sept. 15 in Las Vegas
Two of television’s most innovative brands, HBO and ESPN, have announced a multi-year, multi-tiered boxing programming and marketing agreement. The announcement was made today by ESPN’s Marie Donoghue, senior vice president of global business strategy & development, and Mark Taffet, senior vice president of sports operations & pay-per-view, HBO Sports.
The agreement includes coordinated support for major pay-per-view boxing events, including sharing programming content, cross-promotion elements, highlight packages and additional assets to be featured across multiple ESPN and HBO platforms. As part of the agreement, ESPN and ESPN Deportes’ news and information platforms, led by SportsCenter, will have access to key content and information surrounding marquee HBO Pay-Per-View boxing events, including fighter interviews.
In addition, ESPN Deportes Television and ESPN3- the company’s multiscreen network accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and through ESPN on Xbox LIVE to Gold members- will carry live fighter weigh-ins plus pre- and post-fight press conferences for HBO-Pay-Per-View Events, as well as additional boxing content connected to these major pay-per-view events.
ESPN and ESPN Deportes will also televise the HBO all-access series 24/7 leading up to HBO Pay-Per-View fights. Starting this Thursday, Sept. 13 at 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2 will air the two-part 24/7 Chavez Jr. /Martinez back-to-back, immediately before ESPN Boxing: Friday Night Fights Special Edition live from Las Vegas at 10 p.m. In addition, ESPN Deportes’ Golpe a Golpe will preview the Chavez Jr. vs. Martinez fight at 9 p.m., while ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna will provide updates from both camps. ESPN Deportes will start televising the series starting with the next HBO Pay-Per View event.
“This agreement is a testament to ESPN and HBO’s leadership in the sports media industry,” said Donoghue. “ESPN continues to provide sports fans with greater access to events across various platforms and this agreement further extends our commitment to serve the fan.”
Taffet said, “There is a very deep commitment at HBO to grow the sport of boxing and broaden the exposure for the top fighters and events. This collaboration with ESPN will benefit fight fans that already love the sport, will attract many more sports fans to connect with boxing, and will greatly enhance the visibility of the fighters that are featured in HBO Pay-Per-View events.
Doug Loughrey, director of programming and acquisitions at ESPN: “This collaboration of efforts and resources will provide boxing and sports fans alike a deeper and more consistent look at boxing’s rising stars and established champions while elevating the sport and our collective boxing platforms.”
Quite frankly, this was long overdue. For years and years, you’d want to be able to see Pay-Per-View or other event highlights on ESPN, and you’d be shorted. Great knockout that should have been in top plays, and could have made people more interested in watching boxing? You’re out of luck, because we can only show you still photos.
So this is a good thing for boxing, and it’s nice to see HBO Boxing and ESPN putting this together.
