Spike TV, which will soon be rebranded The Paramount Network, has decided not to renew its contract with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions. Losing any network doesn’t help Haymon, but Spike is an especially big blow as they were the only network other than Showtime who paid for the content. In the other cases, Haymon buys the time on the networks out of pocket and attempts to make a profit on the ad revenue.
Reportedly Spike and their parent company Viacom are looking to double down on their literal investment into Bellator, the world’s number two MMA organization in which Viacom owns a significant stake. Dan Rafael also reported the Spike executives were unhappy with the quality of the matches they were receiving, but they have disputed that in speaking with the media since. Spike TV also has said it is leaving the door open for one off deals to show boxing matches from anyone, including Haymon, but I wouldn’t expect it to be a regular thing any longer if it happens at all.
PBC has also lost its deal with ESPN and NBC/NBC Sports Network, but there are conflicting stories on whether or not NBC still owes them dates. HBO has long banned Haymon fighters for years now even before PBC except as the occasional b-side to a big HBO fighter in need of an opponent. This now leaves PBC with Fox/FS1, CBS/Showtime, and a very small time channel in Bounce TV. It may actually help PBC to have a smaller, more focused selection of channels for the audience to find their cards on, but they cannot continue to lose outlets beyond this point and the Spike money loss will sting.
