Last week, it was announced that Spike TV would not extend its two-year contract with Premier Boxing Champions. The network is planning to position their financial resources on acquiring more programming from the UFC's main competitor, mixed martial arts company Bellator.
The network's decision is no surprise - because Bellator and Spike are owned by the same company, Viacom. The PBC series, which made it's debut back in 2015, was created and pushed by powerful boxing adviser Al Haymon.
The idea, back by a $400 million hedge fund, gave Haymon the financial resources to establish TV deals and provide programming to NBC, CBS, Spike TV, Fox, Fox Sports 1, Bounce TV, Showtime and ESPN.
While PBC got off to a rapid start in 2015, with up to three shows in a single week during certain periods, the number of PBC shows on most of the previously mentioned networks has dwindled to very low numbers. Most of the brand's biggest matches, at least in the last year, have been placed on Showtime or CBS.
According to David Schwarz of Spike, they are not done with boxing and not done with the PBC brand - but they are going to be more selective with the programming they purchase. “We’re tremendously committed to Bellator, which is having its best year ever,” Schwarz told The New York Post. “But we want to make it clear we’re still talking to Al, and we were very satisfied with the fights from PBC. If the right situation and right fight comes up, we’re all ears." A PBC spokesman told the paper that Spike's decision should not viewed as a sign of trouble for the PBC brand. “We continue to have a good relationship with all our broadcast partners as we determine what fights work best for all parties involved,” the spokesman said. - See more at: http://www.boxingscene.com/spike-tv...-with-pbc-fights--115685#sthash.HZK3pAyn.dpuf
The network's decision is no surprise - because Bellator and Spike are owned by the same company, Viacom. The PBC series, which made it's debut back in 2015, was created and pushed by powerful boxing adviser Al Haymon.
The idea, back by a $400 million hedge fund, gave Haymon the financial resources to establish TV deals and provide programming to NBC, CBS, Spike TV, Fox, Fox Sports 1, Bounce TV, Showtime and ESPN.
While PBC got off to a rapid start in 2015, with up to three shows in a single week during certain periods, the number of PBC shows on most of the previously mentioned networks has dwindled to very low numbers. Most of the brand's biggest matches, at least in the last year, have been placed on Showtime or CBS.
According to David Schwarz of Spike, they are not done with boxing and not done with the PBC brand - but they are going to be more selective with the programming they purchase. “We’re tremendously committed to Bellator, which is having its best year ever,” Schwarz told The New York Post. “But we want to make it clear we’re still talking to Al, and we were very satisfied with the fights from PBC. If the right situation and right fight comes up, we’re all ears." A PBC spokesman told the paper that Spike's decision should not viewed as a sign of trouble for the PBC brand. “We continue to have a good relationship with all our broadcast partners as we determine what fights work best for all parties involved,” the spokesman said. - See more at: http://www.boxingscene.com/spike-tv...-with-pbc-fights--115685#sthash.HZK3pAyn.dpuf
