“Interested to See the Price”: After Showtime’s Exit, Jake Paul and Al Haymon Join Hands With Netflix to Fill the Gap of Boxing PPV and Fans Are All for It

The current state of boxing seems to be a bit fragmented, however, this certainly becomes an opportunity for broadcasters and streaming services. With $7.1 billion worth Paramount Global’s announcement that Showtime Sports will cease all of its operations associated with boxing, it has sent a wave of concerns across the community. This would pose a problem for Al Haymon‘s PBC as for the previous decade, they’ve been heavily involved with Showtime to provide exciting fights.

Now, the 37-year run will stop, and the PBC will require a new platform after Showtime’s last fight on December 16, 2023. So in 2024, PBC is looking forward to joining Amazon and DAZN to broadcast their slate of fights. Moreover, as per the report by The Wall Street Journal on Friday, Netflix is also in the conversation with PBC and even Jake Paul, to start streaming live boxing.

Fans react to Netflix potentially streaming Jake Paul and PBC fights

This news was extended to a broader audience on the X app by IFL TV, who broke the news to the boxing fanatics. Recently, Netflix also released the documentary of the YouTuber-turned-boxer, Jake Paul, which became a part of its ‘Untold’ series. Now, they want to do more business with ‘The Problem Child’ and may even fill the void of Showtime Sports for Premier Boxing Champions. The fans showed excitement.

One of the fans stated this is the best time to invest in boxing.

Another fan talked about how it would be a great deal for PBC.

One fan stated that this is amazing news, and the fights could be available across the world through Netflix.

A fan made predictions about Netflix taking the route of PPV buys as well.

An X user thought that this would be cool if it happened.

So, the fans were quite optimistic about this announcement. If Paramount Global is pulling away from the sweet science, would it be profitable for Netflix to dip their hands in the sport? What happened to Showtime Sports?

Showtime Sports shutting down towards the end of 2023

In October, Paramount Global released a statement, where they announced that they will not be streaming the boxing events after the year ends. They mentioned that they’ll complete their tenure this year, by hosting the remaining boxing events in the 2023 slate. However, there won’t be another Showtime boxing event that will air in the coming years. This was done so that they could invest their resources in other places.

Showtime Sports president, Stephen Espinoza, also talked about this announcement. He explained that this decision isn’t based on the performance of the boxing live events, it’s just a way for the company to dwell into new domains. He said, “The company’s decision is not a reflection of the work we have done in recent years, nor of our long and proud history.” Espinoza further continued, “It is not an indictment on the value we have delivered to this network for 37 years, nor, in particular, in 2023. Unfortunately, in a rapidly evolving media marketplace, the company has had to make difficult choices allocating resources, resetting priorities, and reshaping its content offering.”

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After this news, even Oscar De La Hoya pled other promoters to come together and devise new ways to make the sport more profitable and better. Nobody in the sport of boxing could see this happening, as Showtime was a giant when it came to hosting boxing events. But now, Netflix is looking to take over. What are your thoughts about this? Tell us in the comments section.

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