Can ‘Sweet Science’ find new audience?
NBC betting it can as it begins series of 20 live shows with two marquee bouts
“I’m as curious as anybody to see if this provides a resurrection of sorts” for the sport.
Al Michaels, host of NBC’s new boxing series
There is no debating the fact that professional boxing, once a mainstream sport that produced household names and impressive television ratings, has faded to the periphery of the American sports landscape. But NBC is betting on a comeback. The network has invested heavily in Premier Boxing Champions, a series of 20 live shows which debuts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday with two marquee bouts — Adrien Broner vs. John Molina Jr. and unbeaten welterweight champion Keith Thurman vs. Robert Guerrero — at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“PBC on NBC” will include five prime-time shows, six weekend matinees and more than 50 hours of coverage on NBC and NBCSN.
It’s a stunning development for the sport, which hasn’t had prime-time exposure in 30 years, has been relegated to cable TV and pay-per-view and has been overshadowed by the explosive growth of mixed martial arts.
“It will be exciting to see how many people watch,” said Sam Flood, executive producer for NBC Sports. “We’ll see who joins us on Saturday night. We’re hopeful that people catch on and become part of this and grow the sport back to where it belongs.”
Why boxing? And why now?
NBC is counting on a latent market and is devoting considerable resources to Premier Boxing Champions (perhaps you’ve noticed the network promos). Flood said there was strong demand for live sports programming, particularly on weekends.
“I think because of DVR when you have a live event, when there’s a result in doubt, people have a tendency to watch because they have to — they don’t want to have it spoiled by reading about it online or in a tweet,” he said. “There’s a reason Saturday Night Live still gets good ratings: because it’s live, and you never know what’s going to happen.
“‘Live’ is a big word in the television landscape, and we think it’s a key component to what we’re doing on Saturday night.”
The formidable broadcast team consists of Al Michaels as host, Marv Albert calling the play-by-play and Sugar Ray Leonard doing analysis. In addition, Laila Ali and B.J. Flores will be corner analysts and will be joined by reporter Kenny Rice.
NBC will debut a 360-degree camera system never before used in boxing. “Round-A-Bout” will consist of 32 cameras mounted above the ring to present a rotatable field of view and zoom-in ability.
Michaels, who called boxing in the 1970s and ’80s with Howard Cosell but hasn’t done a fight in 15 years, said he’s met a lot of boxing fans lately who are excited that the sport is returning to network TV.
“There’s been a lot of buzz about this,” he said. “I’m as curious as anybody to see if this provides a resurrection of sorts for a sport that became a pay-per-view sport, which didn’t enable a lot of guys to become particularly well-known.”
Professional boxing once was a powerful presence on network television, with several shows airing weekly. The Gillette Friday Night Fights was a prime-time staple from 1946-’60 on NBC and then for several more years on ABC.
It was a time when boxers such as Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano were among the most recognizable sports stars in America, on a par with the biggest names in baseball and football.
Boxing crossed all racial and ethnic lines, with fans packing arenas and gathering in family living rooms to cheer for their favorites. A Friday night show in December 1952 earned a 24.8 market share on NBC.
Even in the 1970s and into the ’80s, boxing was a staple on programs such as ABC’s Wide World of Sports, which showcased Muhammad Ali and turned Leonard, Roberto Duran and Thomas Hearns into stars with huge followings.
But an “imperfect storm,” as Michaels called it, led to a downturn of interest in boxing. An alphabet soup of organizations diluted talent. Other sports surged ahead of the “Sweet Science” in popularity. The exodus to pay-perview by the biggest stars didn’t help boxing cultivate young fans.
“It certainly wasn’t a mistake to the promoters and the people that made a lot of money off it and still do,” Michaels said of pay-per-view. “The top fighters came out fine but . . . itwas very difficult for an up-and-coming guy to get some notice.
“I think to that degree, on balance, it was not good for the sport.”
NBC is betting that boxing is poised to get off the mat.
A long-awaited May 2 megafight between unbeaten welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather and Philippine superstar Manny Pacquiao has generated plenty of excitement, and unbeaten American Deontay Wilder (33-0, 32 knockouts) has people talking about the heavyweight division again.
“We want to help build this resurgence and that’s why we’re doing this,” Flood said. “We see this as an opportunity to get what was a staple of American television viewing back into the spotlight.”
Leonard added, “I don’t think we can compete with the ’80s. We’re just trying to provide for fans boxing that’s consistent, that’s free and that’s competitive. I think that, in itself, will generate the interest that boxing so desperately needs now.”
Michaels said the basic appeal of boxing has never gone away.
“It’s mano a mano, and it’s been that for all of history,” he said. “I’m sure there are people who love it for the blood aspect or whatever you want to call it, but I think there are a ton of people who also really love the strategy that’s inherent in two guys getting in the ring in a pair of trunks and having at it.”
The success of Premier Boxing Champions will hinge on storytelling and competitive bouts. Michaels and Albert, who last called fights at the 2000 Olympic Games, admitted they had to get back up to speed.
“We’re going to be as prepared as we can be,” Michaels said. “Hopefully, we don’t see a first- or second-round knockout because we’re going to have a lot of time to fill.”