For the past ten-to-eleven years, Premier Boxing Champions, often referenced as the PBC, has seen a main ally and broadcast partner be Showtime Sports. It appears that will not be the case in 2024, as multiple reports have surfaced about Showtime leaving the boxing industry after the final second ticks in 2023.
The silent figurehead of the Premier Boxing Champions endeavor is an advisor known by name, but not by face in Al Haymon. The astute businessman, Haymon, is now reported to be looking at landing a potential broadcast deal with Amazon Prime, as it was first reported by Chris Mannix on his boxing podcast. If true, Amazon's financial capability to fund boxing is evident, considering they have now become the broadcast partner of the NFL hosting Thursday night football games on their channel. They have in the past also broadcast MMA fights promoted by One FC.
This is a different time as the Premier Boxing Champions in 2019 had a deal with FOX and Showtime at that point. Now it appears FOX has left the boxing space as it has been a great while since they have even put on a pay-per-view let alone a show on network television or a cable affiliate. With the sudden potential removal of Showtime from the framework, that would mean in the eleventh hour the boxing entity would need to find a suitable partner to give them dates to put on shows to keep their fighters busy.
It was worth noting the divide in boxing from promoters to networks as of now with DAZN hosting Golden Boy Promotions and Matchroom, while ESPN partners with Top Rank for boxing content, and PBC rounding out the major promoters in the United States without a broadcast deal. ProBox TV is putting on a show every other Wednesday for the best value for the consumer with 50-50 fights - but currently doesn't have the marquee fighter to merit the same attention as the major promoters mentioned prior
During the Mannix podcast, he theorized that Amazon, with its substantial budget and resources, could change the way we look at and potentially consume boxing. Given the fact that nearly every person in the world has access to Amazon Prime since it is an effective service, it would put boxing in front of millions of consumers whether in real-time or on demand.
The ongoing dialogue that is alleged between Amazon and PBC would signal a shift in the consumption of boxing as a whole, as this would mean three of the four major promoters would have cut the cord on cable television. As if PBC strikes a deal with Amazon that would mean Top Rank would be the only boxing promotion on network television.
Yet, as of now, this is just one good conversation to be carried out over the course of the next few days or months.
