GUEST COLUMN
The deal with BT Sport was a necessity but does not mean the end for Boxnation
George Warren on Boxnation’s future
FIRST and foremost, Boxnation isn’t going anywhere. I know a few people think, because of Queensberry Promotions’ exclusive deal with BT Sport, which starts later this year, that the Boxnation business is no longer at the forefront of what we’re trying to do, but, I can assure you, that’s not the case.
Speaking promotionally, this is something we, as promoters, have to do. BT Sport have been phenomenal. They’ve really stepped up and thrown a lot of weight behind the sport.
Since we’ve been working with them, I don’t think there’s been any boxing on linear platforms than can rival what we have done together. We’ve seen some quality events and we’ve been able to attract elitelevel fighters. We’ve also developed probably the most promising young stable of boxers this country has seen for some time. But that’s all been done because of our relationship with BT. Hand on heart, would Queensberry have been able to sign the likes of Tyson Fury, Josh Warrington and Carl Frampton without the BT Sport platform? The answer is no. So, for us to continue doing what we’re doing, we need a television partner prepared to put in significant investment and back us to develop our stable and deliver big fights. And what’s important to TV channels is exclusivity.
Where does that leave Boxnation? Well, right now we’re in a really good place with the channel. We’ve recently signed a 12-fight deal with MTK Global, so domestic boxing will still be available to Boxnation customers. There will be more and more international content, too.
Nowhere else will you find as many quality boxers fighting from around the world on such a regular basis, and this year we’ve re-signed a long-term extension with Top Rank, got a deal still in place with Golden Boy, and we’ve just done a multi-fight deal with Lou Dibella. I’m also talking to another couple of promoters in the States and one in Europe about adding some more quality.
I think people forget where the international boxing market was before Boxnation came along. In truth, it didn’t really exist. Setanta used to do a little bit and so did Sky. But since we’ve come along and invested in it, we’ve seen it become hugely popular.
I’ve seen a few people online – particularly around the time of the last Tyson Fury fight – asking why Boxnation customers weren’t getting the same content as BT Sport. But even without BT Sport, these fights wouldn’t be on Boxnation.
It’s just not that kind of sports channel. It’s not Sky Sports. It’s not BT Sport. It is a dedicated boxing channel with an emphasis on bringing quality to its subscribers, but it must also work within its budget.
If Tyson didn’t sign with us, I know that a competing offer was based on his first fight back being on payper-view. So, I think people need to ask themselves, if the fight wasn’t on BT, where would it have ended up? Premium sports content will almost always cost customers money.
Fighters want to earn as much money as possible, and rightly so, which is why sometimes you have to do PPV and you have to do exclusive deals. Not only do we have a duty to fight fans, we also have a duty to our fighters. You have to balance it.
Delivering Elland Road for Josh Warrington, for instance, couldn’t have happened without BT Sport. That’s what people need to realise. You need a big platform to make those investments.
What I’m really happy about, though, and what has been a real coup for the channel and for Queensberry, is that Boxnation remains free of charge to BT Sport customers. That’s why I’d advise customers who want to see our stuff, as well as the best of international boxing, to join BT Sport, because you also get Boxnation for free. That was very important for us.
Ultimately, we’ve always seen Boxnation as a long-term project, and we’re now quite far down the road with our aspirations to make the channel available in multiple territories around the world.
As I said, it’s not going anywhere.