Boxing Champions Help PBC Secure a TV Bag From Fox

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By CultureBanx Team

  • PBC operator manages Floyd Mayweather, Deontay Wilder & Errol Smith
  • Annual TV rights fees could reach more than $50M

Boxing while black leads Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) to ink a four-year agreement with 21st Century Fox (FOXA -0.22%), for the rights to carry its circuit of fights. The two groups hope a consistent level of exposure to the sport can bring it back to mainstream popularity.

Why This Matters: Boxing manager Al Haymon operates the PBC circuit and his clients stand to benefit greatly from this new deal. Champions Floyd Mayweather, Deontay Wilder and Errol Smith are just a few of the boxers Haymon manages. Now that PBC has more broadcast partners there’s going to be an increase in the number of fights taking place, this should also raise the amount of money fighters make.

Let’s breakdown how broadcast rights fees typically work. PBC fights currently air on Fox and FS1, but they paid the network for this broadcast time, that’s all changing now. The Wall Street Journal reported annual rights fees could reach more than $50 million, and that a fight between 2 top-tier boxers draws upwards of $5 million.

It’s possible the agreement could become more lucrative since Fox has PPV broadcast rights as part of this deal.  The “New Fox” which is focused on on live sports and news, will have 10 “championship-level” fights and another 12 fights to be aired on FS1.

Shares of the company are up 24% year to date. For their fiscal Q4 earnings were actually up 58% year over year, and credited television segments with driving the top line growth.

What’s Next: Most of  Fox’s film and television assets are going to be under Disney’s (DIS +0.09%) control, after it completes the sale of the majority of its entertainment properties. The first PBC fight on Fox is scheduled for December.

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