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It’s the end of an era as streaming providers make shifts to their programming.
Showtime is the latest network to axe a 37-year-old staple, “Showtime Championship Boxing.”
Paramount Global made the announcement on Tuesday via a statement obtained by ESPN.
“As we evolve our strategy to more efficiently allocate resources and align our content offering across the business, we’ve made the difficult decision not to move forward with boxing and other content produced by the SHOWTIME sports team,” the company announced.
“SHOWTIME will continue to air and support the remaining 2023 boxing slate and honor obligations through the end of the year,” the statement continued. “We want to express our deepest gratitude to our employees who have contributed to this award-winning sports programming over multiple decades.”
Over the years, Showtime featured greats like Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. It also aired the two fights between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, which included the famous “Bite Fight.”
The outlet reports that Al Haymon’s promotion, Premiere Boxing Champions (PBC) has been the main provider of fights on the network for the past 10 years, that also included Mayweather.
Canelo Alvarez is the top boxer right now and signed a three-year deal with PBC this summer.
The promotion is reportedly shopping deals with Amazon Prime Video and DAZN.
According to John Ourand with Sports Business Journal, starting next year CBS Sports is set to produce any sports on Showtime.
Showtime Sports debuted in March 1986 with the fight between Marvin Hagler and John Mugabi. For years it battled with HBO, who ended its boxing programming in 2018 after 45 years.
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