As we wrote in our Tuesday column, HBO is our personal favorite for Best Network of 2007. This might come as a surprise to some who recall my mid year article that was highly critical of the network in general, and HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg in particular.
I stand behind that article, but much has changed.
At that point, and for quite some time before that, HBO?s flagship sports programming, boxing, was floundering under a series of showcase matches that appeared to be designed more to satisfy their stars and their advisors than their viewers.
Also, Greenburg had apparently been lying in wait for two years for HBO analyst Larry Merchant?s contract to end so that he could replace him with Max Kellerman, hoping to get a younger demographic in the change. Finally after being close to being put out to pasture, Merchant was retained by Greenburg, albeit in a reduced role.
In fairness to Kellerman, it is all too clear in the non-Merchant broadcasts that there?s only one Larry Merchant. (I understand that that phrase can be put to holiday music if you are so inclined.)
Kellerman is a work in progress, which would be fine if he wasn?t starting at the top. The HBO analyst gig is the most coveted job in boxing broadcasting. Some nights I see him turning the corner and on others he seems to be searching for Brian Kenny to rescue him.
He is slated to resume his role on Boxing After Dark in addition to his duties on WCB and PPV, which is actually a good thing for his personal development so that he can get the work he needs to perform at the optimum level on World Championship Boxing and HBO PPV. It?s tough to be thrown into a high profile position, work at your craft, and then some moron like me comes along and records every blunder.
As for Lennox Lewis on the other hand, I see no hope. The man just can?t speak. I have to wonder if Donald Trump is going to assist him with cue cards on Celebrity Apprentice.
Blow by blow announcers Jim Lampley and Bob Papa are excellent. I?m particularly a fan of Lampley, and I don?t care if he is a ?homer.? Somehow it adds to his charm. Besides, I just couldn?t picture anyone else calling a fight for HBO with the same bombastic enthusiasm.
So after a miserable first half that frustrated those of us who expect so much from the Time-Warner network because of the excellence that they have achieved in nearly every form of entertainment, out of nowhere they prove that, at least in broadcasting, there are second acts in boxing.
Overtaking all competition and setting new standards of achievement, HBO cranked it up in the second half of the year. World Championship Boxing came through with fights such as Taylor-Pavlik, Williams-Margarito, Diaz-Diaz, Calzaghe-Kessler, and others. HBO PPV came up big with De La Hoya-Mayweather, Cotto-Judah, Barrera-Marquez, Pacquiao-Barrera II, Cotto-Mosley, and Mayweather-Hatton. Theirs was truly one of the great broadcasting years in the sport in recent times.
De La Hoya-Mayweather, while maybe not the greatest fight in history, was certainly one of the top events and was the catalyst for HBO?s second half surge, returning boxing to the front pages. Now it?s becoming a cool thing to attend fights once again.
The 24/7 concept was simply genius, both versions. It made us look at the athletes as human beings, regular guys going to work and doing their job, just like us. Floyd Mayweather deserves a lot of the credit here. You can love him or hate him, but you can?t take your eyes off of him.
I think the most important development to come out of 24/7 was the connection to the mainstream and Floyd was influential in this regard as well. We?ve all been looking all over the place for a way to cultivate new fans and reinvigorate some old ones, and with 24/7, Ross Greenburg found it.
Let take a look at some of HBO?s 2007 achievements:
* The highest performing year in HBO PPV history. In 2007, they recorded 4.8 million buys and over $255 million in revenue. The previous high was way back in 1999 with four million buys and $200 million in revenue. In 2006, HBO PPV registered 3.7 million buys and $177 million in revenue.
*Mayweather-Hatton generated 850,000 buys and $47 million in revenue.
* De La Hoya-Mayweather produced the highest performing PPV event in history with 2.4 million buys and $134 million in revenue.
*All HBO telecasts are now in HD. HBO On Demand is in about 11 million homes and the HBO Sports/Boxing category is substantial.
It should be noted that the Golden Boy-Top Rank truce, along with seemingly across the board cooperation by every major promoter, replaced the bickering of past years, if not with affection, then at least with respect. Consequently, by working for the greater good, everyone made more money and the fans were entertained.
Success breeds success. Already in 2008 we can look forward to a Pavlik-Taylor rematch in February, and after a four year wait, Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez II is on in March. Roy Jones Jr. and Felix Trinidad square off in January, perhaps a bit late for some, but a sure-fire box office winner nonetheless. Sultan Ibragimov and Wladimir Klitschko meet in February in an effort to unify at least two of the heavyweight titles. Oscar will be fighting again in May. Whether it is Floyd, Ricky Hatton, or Miguel Cotto is immaterial. An opponent will be anointed soon and whoever he is will be $$$. And the hits just keep coming.
It?s also a good bet that we?ll see Bernard Hopkins and Joe Calzaghe meet in the first half of 2008. The question is where. I?ve read Yankee Stadium and 80,000 seats and I?ve heard Mandalay Bay and 10,000 seats. To me, both venues are wrong but we?ll get into that another day.
In preparation for this article I posed a number of questions to a HBO source, in part such as:
*Was there a strategic change in matchmaking? * What part did Ross Greenburg play in HBO?s resurgence and did the removal of Chris Albrecht as president of HBO give Ross more freedom? *Was the budget increased? And? *Are you currently satisfied with your broadcasting teams?
My source replied: ?We do not discuss budgets or personnel issues in the press.
?Obviously, something special happened with De La Hoya vs. Mayweather and the sport seemed to feed off the result.
?The promoters deserve a great deal of credit for taking risks and presenting marquee matchups to their fighters.
?Ross Greenburg is the head of HBO Sports and you can conclude that he plays an important and strategic role in developing the HBO programming plan.?
There?s a part of me that thinks that Albrecht was a giant albatross around Greenburg?s neck. For the record it was said that Greenburg ran HBO Sports without interference, but it was well known that Albrecht was trying to shove MMA down Ross?s throat. A few months after the tippling HBO prez met his Waterloo after an ugly incident in the MGM Grand valet parking area, Greenburg finally dismissed Dana White and his UFC proposals once and for all.
So with all of this in mind, perhaps Greenburg should be afforded some of the credit for HBO?s turnaround to offset his taking most of the blame during their dry spell.
I promised to take a second look after the second half of the year and I?m a man of my word.
NOTES: SOME HOUSEKEEPING MATTERS
There will not be a column tomorrow as it seems that I have been downsized a few days before Christmas. We will now do three columns a week. Yes, I fought, kicking and screaming, but in the end I do what I am told, at least as often as I can. For now at least, our columns will appear on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
For those of you who are pleased with this development, I have two words and they?re not ?Merry Christmas.? If you?re unhappy about it, write me at [email protected] and I?ll hoist an Egg Nog on your behalf and forward it to the proper channels.
Also, we won?t have a column on Christmas and New Year?s Day so that I can report to my new job parking cars at a local restaurant.
