Who is Winning the TV Battle? Consensus: HBO
Photo by Marilyn Paulino
I’m giving this one to no one.
They’re all losing the TV battle. HBO is putting things on PPV that should be on Boxing After Dark (Canelo-Smith anyone?), PBC is tanking in the ratings department while its star fighters almost never get in the ring in the first place, and Showtime is investing in good fights but doesn’t have the star power to put itself on top.
2016 is a bad year for televised boxing. Hopefully it’s just a bad start that improves down the line.
Pick: None
Liam Brady, Graphic Designer/Staff Writer
HBO’s content on all fronts shows why they are the preeminent network on television, and that doesn’t change from a boxing perspective.
With lacklustre numbers on Showtime and PBC broadcasts, HBO keep pulling in impressive numbers, mostly due to Gennady Golovkin.
From its production quality on fight night, to its programming like 24/7, as well as its commentary, HBO has not been matched this year, and I do not think it will be for the foreseeable future.
Pick: HBO
Brandon Glass, Staff Writer
PBC came really close, but HBO has to be the network of the midyear.
You can’t see upper-echelon fighters on the pound for pound list like Roman Gonzalez or Gennady Golovkin fight anywhere else.
Not to mention they aired many quality fights like Terence Crawford vs. Hank Lundy, Sergey Kovalev vs. Jean Pascal II, Francisco Vargas vs. Orlando Salido and a lot of fights that are options on these midyear categories.
Pick: HBO
Leann Perez, Staff Writer
Gotta say, HBO has broadcast some of the better fights this year. Also, some of the fights with the highest viewer ratings have been on HBO.
Canelo Alvarez vs. Amir Khan, Manny Pacquiao vs. Tim Bradley and Francisco Vargas Orlando Salido have all been on HBO or HBO PPV.
Pick: HBO
Shelbi Keyes, Writer
I love the fact that Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions is bringing boxing back to network TV. Last year I was skeptical, but I will admit the matchups are getting much more competitive and entertaining to watch. But, based on the fights I’ve watched up to this point in 2016, in my opinion HBO still has the edge.
January: Sergey Kovalev vs. Jean Pascal II February: Terrence Crawford vs. Hank Lundy (Felix Verdejo vs. William Silva) March: Luis Ortiz vs. Tony Thompson (Sadam Ali vs. Jessie Vargas) & Andre Ward vs. Sullivan Barrera April: Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley (Jose Ramirez vs. Manny Perez, Valdez vs. Evgeny Gradovich, Gilberto Ramirez vs. Arthur Abraham) & Gennady Golovkin vs. Dominic Wade (Roman Gonzalez vs. McWilliams Arroyo) May: Canelo Alvarez vs. Amir Khan (Patrick Teixeira vs. Curtis Stevens, Mauricio Herrera vs. Frankie Gomez, David Lemieux vs. Glen Tapia) June: Francisco Vargas vs. Orlando Salido (Julian Ramirez vs. Abraham Lopez) & Rocky Martinez vs. Vasyl Lomachenko
This schedule speaks for itself.
Pick: HBO
Alan Garcia, Staff Writer
PBC is rising fast in viewers because it has been producing great matchups, therefore giving them a slight edge in numbers. However, I still choose HBO to win the TV battle for many reasons.
HBO has the proper class and fighters to keep this sport high in its respectable elegance. Also the fact that PBC and Showtime both join together to televise fights to compete against HBO is reason enough for me to think HBO is the much better and truer boxing network.
Although HBO has been a little quiet lately, its because Showtime and Al Haymon have monopolized their fighters to fight against each other in snooze-fest fights, meanwhile HBO waits for great fights to make.
HBO has the truer pound-for-pound boxers and are always looking to set high-caliber matches. HBO televises by quality, not quantity, making this the top network.
Pick: HBO
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
If we were choosing which network has the best fighters, HBO would win easily. But, I’m taking Premier Boxing Champions because of the better overall televised bouts.
HBO’s gross mismatches have surpassed the good fights (Francisco Vargas vs. Orlando Salido) they’ve put on. Sergey Kovalev vs. Jean Pascal 2, Luis Ortiz vs. Tony Thompson, Terence Crawford vs. Hank Lundy, Gennady Golovkin vs. Dominic Wade and Canelo Alvarez vs. Amir Khan were all unnecessary mismatches.
PBC isn’t the clear winner, because Lord knows they feed us some crap, but they have given us Danny Garcia vs. Robert Guerrero, Victor Ortiz vs. Andre Berto, Keith Thurman vs. Shawn Porter and eye-grabbing knockouts like Murat Gassiev vs. Jordan Shimmel and Thomas Williams vs. Edwin Rodriguez.
I do expect HBO to take over down the stretch with Crawford vs. Viktor Postol and Sergey Kovalev vs. Andre Ward on deck.
Pick: PBC
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