Say it isn’t so.
After boxing, via Premier Boxing Champions, debuted on CBS for the first time in ages, the network apparently refused to cover it on CBSSports.com, their popular sports site.
How about that for a colossal faux pas?
And as of 4:46pm ET Sunday afternoon, there’s still no post-fight coverage. Stevenson vs Bika made ESPN.com’s home page and numerous other mainstream news sites covered the televised portion of the fight card and reported the results, including Yahoo! and USA Today. Even the top-tier MMA site, Sherdog, offered pre and post fight coverage. So where was CBS Sports?
And why did they choose to cover other events that were broadcast on competing networks instead of two fights that took place in broad daylight on their own?
If the network is devoid of writers who simply don’t know enough about boxing to write about it, the website should have contracted out.
Moreover, CBS Sports published just one article that directly relates to yesterday’s card, a fight preview two days ago.
And the aforementioned article is oddly tagged “boxing” and “BOXING.” No tag for Premier Boxing Champions? No tag for any of the combatants?
And what’s the difference between “boxing” and “BOXING” anyway?
Shouldn’t it be imperative for networks to, at the very least, satisfactorily promote their own events? After all, increased interest in a network’s event bolsters ratings, right? Perhaps there’s nothing in the CBS-PBC contract guaranteeing coverage on CBSSports.com but the network must realize their refusal to provide satisfactory information about a high-profile event on its airwaves is not only poor service to the paying customer, Mr. Al Haymon, but diminishes their brand and disappoints readers who access the site to get information.
Fortunately for Premier Boxing Champions, NBCSports.com is embracing the concept and providing quality coverage for fight cards broadcast on that network.
Get on the ball, CBS Sports….
