ITV IN UK COULD DROP BOXING FROM ITS SPORTING LINE UP FOR COMMERCIAL REASONS
January 17th 2008 00:29
Britain’s ITV could drop boxing from its lineup as part of a rethink of the network's sports coverage ordered by Mark Sharman, the director of news and sport.
But the decision isn’t a moral one, rather it’s a driven by a commercial imperative.
The Guardian reports that Sharman said ITV was faced with a tough decision because boxing was becoming commercially unviable for an advertising-funded channel.
The root problem according to ITV is that it spends time and money building up the profile of British fighters such as Amir Khan, only to see their biggest title fights go to pay-per-view channels once they are established stars.
The competition for top-class fights has recently become even more intense, with Setanta fighting it out with Sky Sports for the pay-TV rights.
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