What prompted HBO to give sports a more prominent position on its subscription on-demand service?
RG: All of our studies came back and confirmed that sports remains a very potent vehicle for HBO. People want their sports and they love that category. If the public wants it, we have to feed them, and this is what [the on-demand move] is all about. MCN: What do you say to people who claim that boxing is an aging sport in decline? RG: I don’t buy it. Boxing has always been cyclical and has survived for 100 years. It’s always gone through its ups and downs. I think it’s a star-driven sport, so if you can match star to star like [Jermain] Taylor and [Winky] Wright or if there is a De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather fight, it’ll bring the attention back to boxing, and the mainstream sports fan will jump back in. [Note: HBO Sports has generated $95.6 million in pay-per-view revenues in 2006 from four PPV boxing matches.] MCN: Once upon a time HBO held the television rights to the Wimbledon tennis tournament. Would HBO consider bidding for the rights to other high-profile events? RG: It’s would be
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- What prompted HBO to give sports a more prominent position on its subscription on-demand service?
