Showtime supports fighters on NBC
LAS VEGAS -- Showtime Sports boss Stephen Espinoza says that as bizarre as it sounds, he is fully supportive of some of the fighters his network has supported -- and some of the bouts he badly wanted to make for his network -- are going to NBC in primetime as part of manager/adviser Al Haymon's new "Premier Champions Boxing" series.
Three bouts on two cards for the series were announced at Wednesday's news conference: interim welterweight titlist Keith Thurman against Robert Guerrero, and Adrien Broner against John Molina in a junior welterweight bout on March 7, and an April 11 junior welterweight unification fight between champion Danny Garcia and titleholder Lamont Peterson, a fight Espinoza had particularly coveted to the point where he took huge heat for an August card featuring both in mismatches when Haymon refused to match them. (By the way, there is a lot of chatter that Haymon is trying to add a fight between middleweight titlist Andy Lee and Peter Quillin, who vacated the belt Lee won in December, to the April 11 card.)
Overall, Haymon's multiyear NBC deal calls for 20 fights in 2015, with 11 on NBC (five on Saturday night primetime and six on Saturday afternoons) and nine on NBC Sports Net.
"The fights that were taken to NBC were done in consultation with me," Espinoza told ESPN.com on Thursday before the final news conference for the Bermane Stiverne-Deontay Wilder heavyweight title bout Showtime will air Saturday night from the MGM Grand. "We had the opportunity to retain those fights for Showtime but we decided that it was better for the long term for the boxers, the sport and for Showtime to allow those fighters to get a lot of mainstream exposure.
"Now I know from the outside it may not make a lot of sense and there are a lot of questions. It's part of a long-term strategy. You can't really evaluate the impact until you see what our schedule is the first six months of the year. If we are able to put on a strong slate of programming, then it makes a little more sense as a long-term play."
At the moment, Espinoza's schedule for 2015 is empty other than a "ShoBox" card earlier this month, Saturday's show and a February "ShoBox." Espinoza said he has plenty coming but didn't want to talk about fights that are not yet finalized.
Still, Espinoza said he expected to have Garcia-Peterson on his network. He wanted it last summer. When it couldn't be worked out, he said the mismatch doubleheader was acceptable because they would fight in the fall. That didn't happen and now they are going to NBC in April.
"Circumstances changed," Espinoza said. "There were opportunities presented to us where in the grand scheme of things it made sense to let that [fight] go. Is that gonna happen regularly? I don't think so."
Still, it doesn't look good for Showtime to have significant bouts it was expected to carry now suddenly go to a free platform in 2015. If you pay $15 a month for Showtime boxing and now its product is free, doesn't that diminish the value of Showtime?
Espinoza said it does not.
"I hope [NBC] does 5 million viewers. I hope they do 10 million viewers because, guess what? I'm getting those guys back [on Showtime] and very, very soon," said Espinoza, noting that the boxers are not exclusive to NBC. "And if they come back after those monster audiences all the better. I think it's in my self-interest. I'm not here to be generous or noble. I actually think this benefits not only Showtime but it benefits boxing fans and the sport.
"The more people who are following boxing, the more people who pay attention to our pay-per-views and [network]. So if somebody becomes a Keith Thurman fan because they saw him on NBC, then there is our direct benefit right there."
Espinoza wants folks to believe that he was in favor of having fighters whose names were being built on Showtime going to NBC to help make them bigger stars, which will be good for boxing in the long run as opposed to the short-term gain of his network having a few big-time fights in the next few months.
In the cutthroat world of television, it's hard to believe, but Espinoza came across as sincere. He said his bosses, Showtime CEO Matt Blank and CBS CEO Leslie Moonves, were part of the process and supportive of Haymon's fighters going to NBC for the upcoming bouts.
"We have a relationship not only with Al Haymon but with the fighters themselves and if I had put my foot down on any one of those they wouldn't have gone there," Espinoza said. "Given the timing, the whole structure doesn't make a lot of sense but I was part of the process. I know the decision doesn't make a lot of sense to people right now in light of the timing of what's going on. If the timing was slightly different and you could see Part 2 and Part 3, then it makes logical sense."
Even if you accept Espinoza's take on the situation, it begs the question: If you wanted to send Haymon's fighters off Showtime, why not send them to Showtime sister networks CBS and CBS Sports Network?
"Who says he isn't," Espinoza said, giving credence to the rumors that Haymon will also be doing some sort of series with CBS. There is also heavy discussion throughout the boxing industry that Haymon is about to announce another time-buy series on Spike featuring more of the 150-plus fighters in his stable.
But with regard to Showtime, now we will wait and see what Espinoza adds to his currently barren schedule that might make this deal make sense for Showtime.
