It’s often said that the best things in life are free. And that is especially the case the televised fights from Boxing Insider Promotions.
What people may not realize, since we’ve been conditioned in what is now an age of pay-per-view (PPV), is that as boxing grew again in the 1970s and 1980s, “pre-selling” itself for PPV in that time, with exposure that came on free television.
And there is less of that now than there has been for a while. Everything else is something people have to pay for. Yes, even on cable television, which requires a fee.
The term “PPV” has, for a long time, been associated with those events of extreme significance.
But the pattern now is that even shows that may not have customarily been pay-per-view caliber in the past carry a fee to watch them. That includes a lot of small streaming services.
And while there is an aspect of such a thing that makes it more “democratic” for smaller promoters to participate in paid viewership of their fights, in some cases representing the only availability, one has to wonder whether this kind of thing does the sport – and business – of boxing any good in the long run.
After all, if the idea is to bring new fans into the fold, and to keep old ones, this kind of thing does not address that issue, as most of the telecasts attract only a few hundred viewers.
So that’s something of a dilemma.
Some folks would argue that the more accessible boxing is to the public, the better it will be.
Thankfully, Larry Goldberg of Boxing Insider Promotions is one of those people. And he is putting his money where his mouth is, so to speak.
Goldberg is making his shows at Sony Hall free of charge to the public through his organization’s YouTube channel. And it’s not a second-rate production either, as one might see from a streaming service. Viewers who have not been fortunate enough to acquire one of the tickets for the live atmosphere at Sony Hall need not despair, as they can catch the action on a live basis.
And any viewer who isn’t able to see the show as it’s happening doesn’t have to go into a panic, as Boxing Insider’s productions can also be viewed on demand. Ultimately the show is edited so that consumers can see each of the fights on the card individually.
It’s all a question of the model that is employed. Rather than the “DTC” (direct to consumer) revenue model, this gravitates to the advertiser-supported model, just like what exists on over-the-air (terrestrial) network television or certain non-subscription movie streamers like Freevee.
It is, in effect, a disruption of what the marketplace in boxing has become.
Goldberg’s eventual objective is to create a streaming channel for boxing, which would include the actual fights themselves, along with podcasts, video shows and other “shoulder” programming. It’s all very exciting for the organization, which has become the busiest New York-based boxing promoter in the city.
So if you would like to see the June 29 show as it’s happening, please use this link:
…. and enjoy!