Bellator to Rise? CBS/Viacom merger; HBO drops Boxing

SSgt Dickweed

SSgt Dickweed

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HBO Says It Is Leaving the Boxing Business
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/27/sports/hbo-boxing.html

After 45 years, more than 1,000 fights and some of the most lucrative and disputed matches of all time, HBO is throwing in the towel on professional boxing.

What started with a monumental upset seen by a relative handful of customers — George Foreman’s knockout of the heavyweight champion Joe Frazier in 1973 — will come to a close at the end of 2018. The network has no boxing broadcasts scheduled beyond a middleweight title fight at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 27.

Peter Nelson, the 37-year-old executive vice president of HBO Sports, announced Thursday morning, in a meeting with the HBO Boxing production staff, that the network was dropping boxing. The HBO Boxing staff includes the play-by-play announcer Jim Lampley, the analyst Max Kellerman, the ringside scorer Harold Lederman and the former boxing champions Andre Ward and Roy Jones Jr., who work for HBO as freelance commentators. Of the announcing staff, only Lampley is expected to remain with HBO.

“This is not a subjective decision,” Nelson said in a recent interview. “Our audience research informs us that boxing is no longer a determinant factor for subscribing to HBO.”

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Not very familiar with all these blue chip companies, but how will this affect Bellator?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/27/sports/hbo-boxing.html
https://www.recode.net/2018/1/18/16906042/cbs-viacom-merger-media-market-landscape-streaming

media_landscape_01.png


I want to see this handsome guy host a weekly sports show:

sonnen-busted.gif
 
Last edited:
How long until there's only one media company left in the States?
 
I doubt it would offer any change for Bellator.

These large commemorates mostly let the smaller entities run/stand on there own and will rarely step in unless heavy loses continue to drag the large commemorate down. For the most part I'd assume business as usual with Bellator.
 
The main benefit would be that a combined Viacom-CBS company would have greater negotiating leverage with cable providers, and would likely see higher fees and subscriber counts for Viacom channels than they are seeing now. Viacom alone doesn't have strong enough content to force providers to pay a premium for their channels. Many providers have dropped all Viacom channels over the past 2-3 years, rather than give in to Viacom's demands, and that is reflected in Spike's plummeting subscriber count (they've lost ~10 million subscribers in the last 2 years).
 
We don’t know what this could mean

It could be business as usual. It could mean that too Bellator tentpole could
Be on cbs. I would love to see that

Having Bellator on network tv would allow them to reach the masses.. this would be a huge jump in the right direction.
 
I think it's more likely Bellator would be sold than for CBS to try to do anything with it. It's a tiny part of Viacom, as part of CBS I think they would see it as a losing entity. I could be wrong though.
 
SSgt Dickweed said:
Not very familiar with all these blue chip companies, but how will this affect Bellator?

https://www.recode.net/2018/1/18/16906042/cbs-viacom-merger-media-market-landscape-streaming

media_landscape_01.png


I want to see this handsome guy host a weekly sports show:

sonnen-busted.gif
Click to expand...

Viacom and CBS were merged at one point in time, and then separated. Strange that they would merge again. I guess that means Star Trek on Paramount again.

Potentially, we could see Bellator fights on CBS network television just like we currently see UFC on Fox.
 
It would be like Strikeforce all over again with CBS.... Which is great.
 
Posted a link on this


Stock has actually risen for Viacom and cbs because of these talks
 
For Bellator to benefit from a potential deal like this, they first have to have a product that doesn't suck.

Chael vs Rampage and Fedor vs Mir in 2018 isn't gonna cut it.
 
Can anyone breakdown how much these streaming services cost per month? I don't live in the US.

Netflix
Amazon
Hulu
UFC Fight Pass

Apple - are they taking preorders for their upcoming service?

And how much does cable TV in the US cost per month?
 
SSgt Dickweed said:
Can anyone breakdown how much these streaming services cost per month? I don't live in the US.

Netflix
Amazon
Hulu
UFC Fight Pass

Apple - are they taking preorders for their upcoming service?

And how much does cable TV in the US cost per month?
Click to expand...
Netflix is 9-14 depending on the amount of streams and streaming quality.
Amazon is 99/year for prime.
Hulu is 8ish a month
Fight pass is 10 a month.
Cable varies greatly by region and package deals. I currently pay 150 a month but that is for 100MB cable, TV with all premium channels and phone service. Cable internet alone cost 50-80 a month depending on speed and region.

FWIW I have all them except fight pass currently.
 
tithas said:
Netflix is 9-14 depending on the amount of streams and streaming quality.
Amazon is 99/year for prime.
Hulu is 8ish a month
Fight pass is 10 a month.
Cable varies greatly by region and package deals. I currently pay 150 a month but that is for 100MB cable, TV with all premium channels and phone service. Cable internet alone cost 50-80 a month depending on speed and region.

FWIW I have all them except fight pass currently.
Click to expand...

giphy.gif
 
Jopious Extronimous said:
For Bellator to benefit from a potential deal like this, they first have to have a product that doesn't suck.

Chael vs Rampage and Fedor vs Mir in 2018 isn't gonna cut it.
Click to expand...
Actually, that's the only thing that will cut it.

If they put on a card with only homegrown Bellator talent (IE: Chandler, Pitbull, Lima, McGeary, etc.), it'll be a broadcast TV ratings disaster of epic proportions.
 
RTL said:
Actually, that's the only thing that will cut it.

If they put on a card with only homegrown Bellator talent (IE: Chandler, Pitbull, Lima, McGeary, etc.), it'll be a broadcast TV ratings disaster of epic proportions.
Click to expand...

So the gameplan is "use subpar MMA with old people to attract viewers"? What are you attracting them to? Fighters who are making 2500K and having to sell tickets?

Bellator simply doesn't have the talent to be putting on consistently good cards. UFC barely does right now, and Bellator only exists at the moment because of their scraps.
 
Jopious Extronimous said:
So the gameplan is "use subpar MMA with old people to attract viewers"? What are you attracting them to? Fighters who are making 2500K and having to sell tickets?

Bellator simply doesn't have the talent to be putting on consistently good cards. UFC barely does right now, and Bellator only exists at the moment because of their scraps.
Click to expand...
Again, a Chandler-headlined (and I'm using Chandler because I think he's the closest thing Bellator has to a homegrown star) show maybe does a 0.5 at best on primetime broadcast television (which would be disastrous).

Put Sonnen in with the right opponent in a grudge match, and you might get 2.0 - 3.0. Unfortunately, I don't think there's anything Bellator can do to do Kimbo Slice numbers—even if they somehow got St-Pierre (who there's no evident grudge match for—maybe Askren if he turns it up, but he's too awkward a talker to cultivate big numbers).

MacDonald and Mousasi are not stars, and neither are half of the HWGP. Actually, you can probably select 10-15 fighters / retirees outside of the UFC who hold 99% of the North American drawing power. If I had to make an educated guess:
  1. Chael Sonnen
  2. Ken Shamrock
  3. Tito Ortiz
  4. Chuck Liddell
  5. Randy Couture
  6. Fedor Emelianenko
  7. Rampage Jackson
  8. Wanderlei Silva
  9. Matt Hughes
  10. Dan Henderson
  11. Mirko Cro Cop
  12. Frank Shamrock
Notice a trend here? They're all "washed up hasbeens," but it doesn't change the fact that they have the biggest name value + drawing power on the worldwide MMA scene, because they all established their names during the boom era and have attained legendary status (regardless of current condition).
 
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