Less than two months after losing its final remaining broadcast outlet when Paramount announced on Oct. 17 that Showtime would exit the boxing business at the end of 2023, the Premier Boxing Champions has found a new home.
It announced a multi-year deal with Prime Video, which will carry all of PBC's pay-per-view offerings as well as several non-PPV cards in the U.S. and other markets around the world. The companies did not announce details about how many non-PPV fights will be broadcast and where they will be available other than in the U.S. In a news release, it said the first PBC PPV show on Prime will likely be in March.
A source said that the pay-per-view events will still be available for purchase on cable and satellite, as well as on PPV.com, in addition to being available on Prime Video.
“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,” said Marie Donoghue, Amazon's vice president for U.S. sports content and partnerships. “With live coverage of PBC action throughout the calendar year, Prime Video continues to bring viewers in the U.S. and around the world the best in sports.”
The PBC has long been turning toward being a PPV company and has been putting most of its best content on in a pay model for several years.
It's a drastic change from its founding in 2015, when it announced deals with major broadcast channels NBC, CBS, FOX and ABC and aired bouts on those for free. It also had deals with several cable networks. But as the television industry was changing, it impacted PBC.
It lost its partnership with Fox in 2022 and has one more show slated for Showtime, next week, before Showtime exits the boxing business.
Boxing is the most recent global business to be streamed via Prime. Prime Video already has rights deals for the NFL via Thursday Night Football; the WNBA; ONE Championship; the NWSL, the New York Yankees and Premier League soccer, as well as others. Some of those are world-wide and others are in specific countries.
One of the problems in the pay-per-view business is the enormous rate of theft of signal. The PBC boxing series on Prime Video will be open to all Amazon Prime customers, but there will be an additional charge for all regardless of membership. Companies have invested millions in technology to protect their PPV signals, but the theft has still created an enormous problem for the industry and the pay--per-view numbers have been declining.
But that would have been true no matter where PBC ended up, so it was a good deal for the company and its large contingent of fighters to land a broadcast home. A Prime Video spokesman told keviniole.com that it has 115 million viewers monthly in the U.S.
“Premier Boxing Champions is very proud to partner with Prime Video to showcase our world-class boxers and events," said the PBC's Bruce Binkow. "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."