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Mike Coppinger, ESPN
Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) and Amazon’s Prime Video on Thursday announced a multiyear deal to deliver fights on the streaming service beginning in March.
Twelve to 14 events are expected in the first year between pay-per-view offerings and fights that will be available to Prime Video subscribers, a source told ESPN.
PBC fights and PPVs were televised by Showtime, but the network will exit boxing programming at the end of the year.
“We are thrilled to join with Premier Boxing Champions to bring the best boxers in the world to Prime Video, and to give more fans than ever the chance to experience these must-see events,” Marie Donoghue, who oversees U.S. sports content & partnerships for Amazon, said in a statement.
The deal could be expanded, a source told ESPN. Each of the PPV shows will be preceded by a two-hour block of preliminary fights on Prime Video.
PBC pay-per-view events will be available on cable and satellite in addition to Prime Video.
PBC’s roster is led by Canelo Alvarez, boxing’s top star, who is signed with the organization for two more fights. Alvarez is expected to return May 4 and then again in September on Mexican Independence Day weekend.
PBC’s second-biggest star is Gervonta Davis, who eclipsed 1 million pay-per-view buys for his fight with Ryan Garcia in April. Davis could headline PBC’s first Prime Video PPV in March.
PBC will handle production for the events, sources said. And there will also be shoulder programming to support the pay-per-view events.
The organization delivered some major PPV events this year, including Terence Crawford-Errol Spence Jr. and Alvarez-Jermell Charlo.
The roster also includes rising star David Benavidez, Caleb Plant and the Charlo twins.
“Premier Boxing Champions is very proud to partner with Prime Video to showcase our world-class boxers and events,” Integrated Sports’ Bruce Binkow, who was instrumental in closing PBC’s deal with Amazon, said in the statement.
“With Prime’s incredible reach and unprecedented marketing power, we’re very excited to reach new audiences for our sport as we continue to present the most exciting, competitive and biggest fights in Boxing.”
Source: www.espn.com