Channel 5 Boxing: Deserves credit?

Although not the most polished sports show on earth, I do feel Ch5 is doing boxing some justice here. Two live shows in consecutive weeks.

I've never been a fan of fat Mick, but if he continues to put on shows live on terrestrial TV, he could well increase his stable. With Eubank Jr., Degale & Fury currently in his stable I do feel there is more to come from Ch5. Although I do respect the fact Boxnation needs a business model to be sustainable (pay per month subscription) boxing does desperately need increased public exposure on free to view TV.

Charchters such as Fury, Eubank and Degale will attract attention, whether liked or loathed.

Agreed

The opposition to date isn't great but they draw millions of viewers compared to the thousands in boxnation, Sky etc which can only be good for the sport

Keeping fights regularly will be the problem as his stable is small ad Galahad and Eubank can't hold a show on there own so he's overly reliant on Degale and Fury

Only issue I have is the timing of the fights. If CH5 want to attract large audiences they need to put the fights on at the prime viewing time which is around 8pm. There fights seems to start at 10:30 which is when Match of the Day is on. Non-boxing fans who are into sports will watch MOTD instead of the boxing and thus there will be no new fans.

An earlier start time where there is no other sports show on would really increase the numbers and would hopefully keep boxing on terestrial tv.

victorgarco wrote:Only issue I have is the timing of the fights. If CH5 want to attract large audiences they need to put the fights on at the prime viewing time which is around 8pm. There fights seems to start at 10:30 which is when Match of the Day is on. Non-boxing fans who are into sports will watch MOTD instead of the boxing and thus there will be no new fans.

An earlier start time where there is no other sports show on would really increase the numbers and would hopefully keep boxing on terestrial tv.

8pm? Wouldn't that clash with X Factor? Not that I care or anything.....

Agree, full credit for Channel 5 and Hennesey for putting on more fights on terrestrial tv in the last year than we've had in the last decade!

i think c5 do a good job with their boxing coverage. yes it's not slick but that's just superficial sky nonsense. it gets the job done and it's in HD for free.

OasisBFC wrote:i think c5 do a good job with their boxing coverage. yes it's not slick but that's just superficial sky nonsense. it gets the job done and it's in HD for free.

A quantum leap ahead of Primetimes coverage!

Agreed. C5 is no frills and sometimes it looks tatty - thats everything not just the boxing. But the essentials are always there. Only thing I'd like if they had live streaming too but you cant have everything.

ShahenshahG wrote:Agreed. C5 is no frills and sometimes it looks tatty - thats everything not just the boxing. But the essentials are always there. Only thing I'd like if they had live streaming too but you cant have everything.

There are Internet websites (legal) such as TV catchup which would allow you to stream online with a slight delay if required.

I didn't know that, thank you kindly mate.

As someone who has recently cancelled his Sky subscription due to the dearth of boxing being show, I have to applaud C5 for seemingly undoing the damage done by A-Farce when it comes to getting boxing back on poverty TV as people like to call it. Whilst being no fan of Henessey, he has managed to get a name people can relate to in Eubank Jr and hopefully he can capture the public's imagination and get boxing back to the mainstream.

By the time you subscribe to Sky, BN and ESPN, you're talking a healthy wedge.

Big Paul. PM for you fella.

Any channel that gives boxing live coverage deserves credit and needs support.

Love it and find myself supporting all their fighters. Though Kid Galahad is the only one I would consider myself a fan of.

C5 is doing a decent job and deserves credit. Terrestrial boxing can never be sniffed at. Wish it was on a bit earlier - maybe 9pm for the main event. Other than that I can't ever say anything bad about the fact we have boxing on "free-to-air" TV