MatchRoom Fight Pass

by Sugar Boy Sweetie Wed Jul 09, 2014 9:21 pm

Along with announcing the signing of Macklin today with a Dublin show scheduled for August, MatchRoom have announced a new 'Fight Pass' scheme. Some of you may have seen it but it's not been covered on here as far as I can see. Basically £30 a year membership will allow you to view 10 extra shows per year via HD streaming on MatchRoom.com which they will do in conjunction with other promotors such as Dave Caldwell, Steve Goodwin and Steve Wood. It also includes access to training footage, archive fights and a magazine show headed by iFL. Members also get priority booking for all MatchRoom boxing events.

http://www.matchroomboxing.com/news/matchroom-boxing-fight-pass-launches-august/

Also, here is the MatchRoom schedule for the autumn (doesn't include the other promotors shows which will be streamed on the Fight Pass):

http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/blogpost?blogname=dan-rafael&id=9772&src=desktop&rand=ref~%7B%22ref%22%3A%22http%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FAFnPLYdWI5%22%7D

Good to see that other less mainstream promotors will now get exposure for their shows, and for the die hard boxing fan obviously the more viewable fights there are the better. Of course it comes at a cost, but £30 a year isn't much, a quarter of the cost of a BoxNation subscription.

So what d'you think gents, is this a goer or not?

by wheelchair1991 Wed Jul 09, 2014 10:15 pm

Good idea i wont be buying it though

by Strongback Thu Jul 10, 2014 7:29 am

How much does a regular Sky Sports subscription cost these days?

Will there be any international fights screened for the £30?

I thought IFL claimed they were independent and not on Matchrooms payroll?

Do Sky require that Matchroom generate a certain amount of money every year to keep boxing on the channel?

How much of the £30 will Coldwell and the others get when their fighters are televised?

Is this Matchrooms Plan B for when Froch retires and Matchroom do not have a PPV fighter on their books?

by wheelchair1991 Thu Jul 10, 2014 8:08 am

IFL are independent only last week you were using an interview they had recently done with Warren as evidence to rubbish Hearn yet again

by Derbymanc Thu Jul 10, 2014 8:21 am

Get your article written Strongy, we're all waiting.

I think it's a very good idea especially if we do get some of the smaller international fights too. And anything that gives more exposure to domestic boxers can be a very good thing

clap

to Eddie, you might not like the guy but he is a cracking businessman and tries to do things for us fans

by wheelchair1991 Thu Jul 10, 2014 8:44 am

Be interesting to see how popular this idea is

by Rowley Thu Jul 10, 2014 8:53 am

I would suspect take up on this will be fairly limited. These things have been tried before, secondsout.com had a spell of streaming fights and soon got rid of the idea. However guess there is a chance things may be better now, the technology has certainly improved to the point where watching internet based things is more feasible. Most half decent TV’s can handle streaming internet feeds now, which is a big plus. Would still guess uptake will be fairly low. On top of a Sky subscription and Boxnation subscription, which most fans have, there has to come a point where enough is enough spending wise.

However good to see the likes of Coldwell getting exposure, he puts some cracking cards on and without TV exposure it is difficult to make money, if this helps him with that fair play.

by Derbymanc Thu Jul 10, 2014 9:14 am

It could work due to Eddie's exposure on Sky, all he needs to do is mention it a few times and ram it home that it's 57p a week and he might see a bigger take up on it.

I know it can still be expensive to see even a local show (between about 20 - 40 quid if I remember right) so for cheapskates like me who can't afford it. Could be perfect.

Big IF but IF it's managed right you could actually use it to build up some of the younger talent and then move them up to sky.

by Sugar Boy Sweetie Thu Jul 10, 2014 10:04 am

Strongback wrote:How much does a regular Sky Sports subscription cost these days? About £23 a month.

Will there be any international fights screened for the £30? So far only shows by other promotors such as Coldwell etc that wouldn't ordinarily get exposure have been mentioned, minimum of 10 per year, international shows have not been mentioned.

I thought IFL claimed they were independent and not on Matchrooms payroll? They are, but iFL is growing and you have to assume they are ambitious and this is a good opportunity, but Kugan said iFL will remain internet based & independent. Hearn has already got them sponsors with Betway and MGM gym, he's obviously tighter with Hearn than the other promotors, BoxNation already has Bunce.

Do Sky require that Matchroom generate a certain amount of money every year to keep boxing on the channel? I believe the requirement is they put on a certain amount of shows per year which Sky then sell to their own advertisers. If you look at the autumn schedule, MatchRoom has a lot of shows coming up. This venture is separate to the sky deal, but with talk that it will allow small hall fighters to get more exposure so they can be built into future Sky fighters via MatchRoom.

How much of the £30 will Coldwell and the others get when their fighters are televised? No idea, but they all seem very enthusiastic about it and I'm sure they're all astute enough not to get mugged off by fast Eddie.

Is this Matchrooms Plan B for when Froch retires and Matchroom do not have a PPV fighter on their books? I doubt it. Hearn said yesterday that Froch is looking to get back in camp in about a month, and that the DeGale fight is becoming a bigger possibility, MatchRoom have a big enough sports portfolio not to be dependent on one PPV fighter.

by Strongback Thu Jul 10, 2014 4:50 pm

Wheely and Derbymanc barely have a 1000 post between them and are on here championing Eddie at every opportunity. Could make you wonder...........

by **hampo17** Thu Jul 10, 2014 4:53 pm

Coldwell has been doing this for the last two years without charging a penny, Matchroom are just trying to expand it's reach. Not bad for the price either.

by Dipper Brown Thu Jul 10, 2014 5:02 pm

Actually come to think, if you add Wheelchair and Derbymanc together it spells 'Hlcirewaeh Ndbremcya' which was the name of the guy who fought Jamie McDonnell on the Froch Groves undercard.

An event promoted by none other than Eddie Hearn.

I think we've uncovered another layer in the mole people conspiracy!

by Rowley Thu Jul 10, 2014 5:19 pm

Dipper Brown wrote:Actually come to think, if you add Wheelchair and Derbymanc together it spells 'Hlcirewaeh Ndbremcya' which was the name of the guy who fought Jamie McDonnell on the Froch Groves undercard.

An event promoted by none other than Eddie Hearn.

I think we've uncovered another layer in the mole people conspiracy!

You would say that Dipper, think we all know Dipper was the name of Eddie's first pet. You're fooling nobody. I would ban you, but obviously as a member of the moderation team I am in on it.

by Dipper Brown Thu Jul 10, 2014 5:30 pm

Rumbled!

by Derbymanc Thu Jul 10, 2014 6:14 pm

I also live in manchester, which is a part of England which is where Eddie promotes most of his fights.

The plot thickens...............................................................

I forgot to say, you know your losing the plot when your using someones post count as a reason your right.

by Dipper Brown Thu Jul 10, 2014 6:19 pm

Matchroom news. GGG's fight on July 26th is on sky sports, brilliant news for me as I don't have box nation

by Derbymanc Thu Jul 10, 2014 6:21 pm

Cheers for that news Dipper, Eddie hadn't informed me yet about that, I must admonish him later for it.

Seriously though good news for him and hopefully we'll start to see more of the foreign fights on Sky.

by Dipper Brown Thu Jul 10, 2014 6:32 pm

Yeah same! I was worried sky would only showcase domestic boxing leaving Box nation to show all the big international names. Good news

by wheelchair1991 Thu Jul 10, 2014 6:39 pm

Derbymanc we better write more about how we love eddie more so we can get our post count up so we become an boxing expert like strongy

by Steffan Thu Jul 10, 2014 7:09 pm

So are Derbymanc and wheelchair1991 the same person then?

by wheelchair1991 Thu Jul 10, 2014 7:30 pm

No but according to strongy we have a lot in common we have a similar number of posts and we both suck up to lord hearn, ive never had my own post count used against me

by kingraf Thu Jul 10, 2014 7:54 pm

I thought he meant Derby and Wheelie were created by Hearn to implant an idea into our minds. This may also be the plot of Inception

by wheelchair1991 Thu Jul 10, 2014 8:01 pm

I think you have nailed it kingraf

by **owen10ozzy** Thu Jul 10, 2014 8:28 pm

Dipper; Hearn announced last year towards Christmas that he would be bringing on more international dates for Sky;

When he first started out on the sky platform I believe they had somewhere in the region of 14 alloted dates given to them to fulfill. That figure is now up to 23 shows and rumors suggest that could increase to 28 by next May with a new deal.

Last Autumn they signed an exclusive deal with Top Rank which gave them rights to show a number of fights over the fall period. It is thought that the same will happen again this coming autumn.

It does seem that Frank has plenty of dates sewn up when it comes to International shows so quite how much maneuvering can be done from Matchroom I'm not sure; perhaps that is why they have gone the route of Internet based pass with access to small hall shows.

Good idea in principal and at 2 quid odd a month hardly an expense but you would think it's only the hardcore fans that will sign up for it.

by Dipper Brown Thu Jul 10, 2014 8:31 pm

Cool, thanks for the info Owen.

by Strongback Thu Jul 10, 2014 9:07 pm

£2.50 a month but will you watch it.

You know you will watch BoxNation..........even if you have to call around to a 'mates' house to see it.

by kingraf Thu Jul 10, 2014 10:08 pm

I suspect Sky, (and Hearn), have figured, with nearly a million buys for Unfinished Business, and the highlight reel finish... the amount of people who consider themselves "hardcore fans" has increased. Sky can't really lose here, or at least not heavily. I imagine advertisers will be pretty pleased as you can provide viewer specific ads on the net. It's low risk, decent reward.

by jimdig Fri Jul 11, 2014 8:02 am

If I was a cynic I'd say matchroom is looking to initiate their own box nation model. This is just a dipping of the toe exercise.

Is the market that lucrative that there is room for another ppv station targeting domestic level fights? I suppose trying to charge for what coldwell was giving away free is an easy low risk way of finding out.

by Derbymanc Fri Jul 11, 2014 9:00 am

Morning All,

I think there definately is a market for domestic level fights and could lead to an increase in fans overall. If it's marketed properly and instead of molly coddling prospects we get to see some proper fights then no reason it can't succeed.

I think one of the problems with Boxnation is that a lot of the fights are tilted so far in Frank's fighters favour that you kind of switch off even if it's on (It's what's stopped me subscribing.)

It can help the other promotors too showcase the fighters on their books too (Eddie that acehole, how dare he try and help other promotors, scrap it all now.)

Hopefully Eddie can use Sky to promote it as well, plus if you happen to see a card in say Manchester that is really good, suddenly that 40 quid ticket you were looking at a month ago thinking it's too expensive might become value for money which helps the local promotor in that way too.

by Rowley Fri Jul 11, 2014 9:57 am

jimdig wrote:If I was a cynic I'd say matchroom is looking to initiate their own box nation model. This is just a dipping of the toe exercise.

To be fair to him superfly, who has some professional experience in this area called this years ago. He said Sky would take a look at how boxnation performed and, was it to provde viable either buy them out or blow them out of the water and generally nick the model. If they can do so without taking Bunce with them all the better.

by Strongback Fri Jul 11, 2014 9:58 am

Derbymanc wrote:Morning All,

I think there definately is a market for domestic level fights and could lead to an increase in fans overall. If it's marketed properly and instead of molly coddling prospects we get to see some proper fights then no reason it can't succeed.

I think one of the problems with Boxnation is that a lot of the fights are tilted so far in Frank's fighters favour that you kind of switch off even if it's on (It's what's stopped me subscribing.)

It can help the other promotors too showcase the fighters on their books too (Eddie that acehole, how dare he try and help other promotors, scrap it all now.)

Hopefully Eddie can use Sky to promote it as well, plus if you happen to see a card in say Manchester that is really good, suddenly that 40 quid ticket you were looking at a month ago thinking it's too expensive might become value for money which helps the local promotor in that way too.

Thanks for that Eddie, it's good to hear the promoters point of view.

by Rowley Fri Jul 11, 2014 10:00 am

Strongback wrote:
Derbymanc wrote:Morning All,

I think there definately is a market for domestic level fights and could lead to an increase in fans overall. If it's marketed properly and instead of molly coddling prospects we get to see some proper fights then no reason it can't succeed.

I think one of the problems with Boxnation is that a lot of the fights are tilted so far in Frank's fighters favour that you kind of switch off even if it's on (It's what's stopped me subscribing.)

It can help the other promotors too showcase the fighters on their books too (Eddie that acehole, how dare he try and help other promotors, scrap it all now.)

Hopefully Eddie can use Sky to promote it as well, plus if you happen to see a card in say Manchester that is really good, suddenly that 40 quid ticket you were looking at a month ago thinking it's too expensive might become value for money which helps the local promotor in that way too.

Thanks for that Eddie, it's good to hear the promoters point of view.

And equally nice to have the counter view from you Frank.

by Strongback Fri Jul 11, 2014 10:25 am

Rowley wrote:
Strongback wrote:
Derbymanc wrote:Morning All,

I think there definately is a market for domestic level fights and could lead to an increase in fans overall. If it's marketed properly and instead of molly coddling prospects we get to see some proper fights then no reason it can't succeed.

I think one of the problems with Boxnation is that a lot of the fights are tilted so far in Frank's fighters favour that you kind of switch off even if it's on (It's what's stopped me subscribing.)

It can help the other promotors too showcase the fighters on their books too (Eddie that acehole, how dare he try and help other promotors, scrap it all now.)

Hopefully Eddie can use Sky to promote it as well, plus if you happen to see a card in say Manchester that is really good, suddenly that 40 quid ticket you were looking at a month ago thinking it's too expensive might become value for money which helps the local promotor in that way too.

Thanks for that Eddie, it's good to hear the promoters point of view.

And equally nice to have the counter view from you Frank.

I'm around too long to start loving Frank now.

by Derbymanc Fri Jul 11, 2014 10:25 am

No probs Strongy,

Your ex says hello but can you stop bugging her as she'd rather stay with me where the moneys at Wink

by Reborn-DeeMcK-Reborn Fri Jul 11, 2014 11:24 am

Boxnation sometimes give you 8 cards a month, mixture of euro, domestic and world shows for a tenner. And the majority of those have real good names on the cards. Do they seriously think 30 quid for 10 small hall shows is going to catch on. Not a chance this will be a success. Plus it's on a website and when most people are already on a computer watching boxing they normally aren't paying for it. I'm sure the good intentions are there (especially with Coldwell) but this is never gonna work

by Derbymanc Fri Jul 11, 2014 11:29 am

It all depends on how they market it RDR, 30 quid a year equates to 57p a week/£2.28 a month. Which really is pocket change. I also think a lot of it will depend on quality too.

It's something that more sports should do more of (although I'm not sure how much it costs to set up (don't tell Strongy but I'm not really Eddie Wink

A lot will depend on the quality of the bouts too though. With the advent of the table/laptop/smartphone it's a decent idea.

by Strongback Fri Jul 11, 2014 1:33 pm

Derbymanc wrote:No probs Strongy,

Your ex says hello but can you stop bugging her as she'd rather stay with me where the moneys at

Although I don't have much time for my last ex, around 2003, I wouldn't want her to get caught up in the Essex mob.

by Derbymanc Fri Jul 11, 2014 1:39 pm

Well can you stop texting her, it's really annoying, particulary when i'm out with me dad Barry.

by Strongback Fri Jul 11, 2014 2:07 pm

Derbymanc wrote:Well can you stop texting her, it's really annoying, particulary when i'm out with me dad Barry.

Haven't spoken to her in more than 10 years. Does Susan know about your extracurricular activities?

by Derbymanc Fri Jul 11, 2014 2:18 pm

She doesn't mind cause I'm worth loadsamoney.

Ooooh your postcount is nearly 5000, you get to own part of the internet when you get to that.

by Strongback Fri Jul 11, 2014 2:22 pm

Derbymanc wrote:She doesn't mind cause I'm worth loadsamoney.

Ooooh your postcount is nearly 5000, you get to own part of the internet when you get to that.

5000 posts just proves I'm not a blow in spouting propaganda. Started posting on 606 in 2007 and I wasn't early to the party at that time by any means.

by Guest Fri Jul 11, 2014 2:29 pm

Derbymanc wrote:She doesn't mind cause I'm worth loadsamoney.

Ooooh your postcount is nearly 5000, you get to own part of the internet when you get to that.

No Daddy buys it for him and he can then boast to his "friends" Lord Poshington and Earl Tarquin Dribblington III

by Derbymanc Fri Jul 11, 2014 2:29 pm

Strongback wrote:
Derbymanc wrote:She doesn't mind cause I'm worth loadsamoney.

Ooooh your postcount is nearly 5000, you get to own part of the internet when you get to that.

5000 posts just proves I'm not a blow in spouting propaganda. Started posting on 606 in 2007 and I wasn't early to the party at that time by any means.

by **owen10ozzy** Fri Jul 11, 2014 2:32 pm

Take around 3500 off that post count for Eddie related anger filled comments and another 1200 for nonsensical posts....

Leaves very few posts which actually contribute much.. Whistle

by Strongback Fri Jul 11, 2014 2:35 pm

Derbymanc wrote:
Strongback wrote:
Derbymanc wrote:She doesn't mind cause I'm worth loadsamoney.

Ooooh your postcount is nearly 5000, you get to own part of the internet when you get to that.

5000 posts just proves I'm not a blow in spouting propaganda. Started posting on 606 in 2007 and I wasn't early to the party at that time by any means.

The last person I have seen posting so many smilies is Top Hat. Maybe you have something in common with him also.

by Strongback Fri Jul 11, 2014 2:39 pm

owen10ozzy wrote:Take around 3500 off that post count for Eddie related anger filled comments and another 1200 for nonsensical posts....

Leaves very few posts which actually contribute much..

Eddie doesn't make me angry, I point out that he is establishing a monopoloy and many of his practices are dubious. This doesn't make me angry, what is actually sad is the number of people who hero worship Hearn.

I'm sure I must have had 10 or 15,000 on BBC 606 before Eddie ever appeared in boxing 3 years ago.

by Derbymanc Fri Jul 11, 2014 2:40 pm

Yeah we both know you've got a screw loose. thumbsup

You were asked last week to write an article justifying your obvious hatred of Eddie and still haven't done it. I'd also like to know why you feel that this is a bad idea.

by Strongback Fri Jul 11, 2014 3:13 pm

Derbymanc wrote:Yeah we both know you've got a screw loose.

You were asked last week to write an article justifying your obvious hatred of Eddie and still haven't done it. I'd also like to know why you feel that this is a bad idea.

When I start doing things at your request I'll know I'm fooked.

by Derbymanc Fri Jul 11, 2014 3:35 pm

Not at my request Strongy,

You've been complaining and moaning about Eddie for a while and seem to get really annoyed that noone else shares your views. A proper article (or a paragraph) explaining it (keeping away from the 'he's a slimeball' comments) might help show people why you feel that way.

I'm interested in your thoughts on why the matchroom fight pass is a bad idea as I can't really see a downside to it at all.

by Guest Fri Jul 11, 2014 4:04 pm

Derbymanc wrote:Not at my request Strongy,

You've been complaining and moaning about Eddie for a while and seem to get really annoyed that noone else shares your views. A proper article (or a paragraph) explaining it (keeping away from the 'he's a slimeball' comments) might help show people why you feel that way.

I'm interested in your thoughts on why the matchroom fight pass is a bad idea as I can't really see a downside to it at all.

Look into the eyes, not around the eyes....

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