HBOs Greenburg departure potential MMA opportunity
HBO’s President of Sports Ross Greenburg is a long time foe of mixed martial arts on the channel, as detailed…
HBO’s President of Sports Ross Greenburg is a long time foe of mixed martial arts on the channel, as detailed below by Thomas Hauser in a 2007 piece.
Within the boxing community, HBO warrants closer scrutiny than Showtime because it’s the standard-bearer for the sport. Sources at HBO say that Ross Greenburg (president of HBO Sports) opposed the UFC deal as vigorously as possible. He did everything in his power not to televise mixed martial arts. But in the end, he had no choice.
Ari Emanuel (a Hollywood agent on whom the character played by Jeremy Piven in Entourage is believed to be based) represents UFC. He pitched UFC to HBO chairman Chris Albrecht, who (in pursuit of a younger viewing demographic) insisted on the telecasts. That represented a marked shift in HBO’s corporate culture. In the past, an HBO chief executive officer would not have ordered sports programming over the objection of the sports department.
During an interview last week, Greenburg declined to comment on the matter beyond acknowledging, “I wouldn’t say that I’m a big fan of UFC. But when I started at HBO, I wasn’t a big fan of boxing either. I recognize the fact that UFC appeals to a fan base and demographic that boxing doesn’t have right now.”
But Seth Abraham (Greenburg’s predecessor) is less reticent, declaring, “I think it’s ridiculous for HBO to televise UFC. When I was at HBO, we had discussions once or twice a year about professional wrestling. We all agreed that it would get good ratings and we also agreed that it would tarnish our boxing franchise. I feel the same way about UFC. Boxing has a storied history. When HBO attaches itself to boxing, it attaches itself to Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, and Muhammad Ali. It attaches itself to history, achievement, and glory. UFC has none of those things, and it will tarnish HBO’s boxing franchise. Will UFC get good ratings? Probably. But so would naked boxing.”
Be that as it may; this is a watershed moment for HBO Sports. And it comes at a time when HBO can no longer take its favored position with boxing fans for granted. Until recently, there was a presumption that, if a fight was on HBO, it was worth watching. That’s no longer always the case.
The network’s boxing program as a whole is getting flat. When Greenburg was executive producer of HBO Sports, he earned acclaim as an innovator in live-boxing television production. But not much new has happened since he left that position. The production values (which were once cutting edge) are growing stale. The advertising and marketing for HBO’s fights are less imaginative than they should be. And replacing one or more on-screen commentators with younger “talent” won’t solve the problem. To the contrary, that change most likely will only diminish HBO’s aura of class.
The powers that be at HBO have to sit down with a blank piece of paper and ask themselves, “What do we want HBO Sports to look like five years from now?” And when they do, they should examine the underlying philosophy that drives their boxing program.
Now doghouseboxing.com is reporting that Greenberg is done.
Ross Greenburg is out as HBO’s President of Sports, and his removal is expected to be announced as early as Monday, according to multiple sources familiar with the network’s decision.
Much of Greenburg’s demise can be traced to the loss of boxing’s biggest star, eight-division titlist Manny Pacquiao, to rival cable giant Showtime in May.
BloodyElbow.com talks about what it means to us.
The real question to MMA fans is “does the departure of Greenburg represents an opening for the UFC or another MMA promotion to find their way to the HBO airwaves?” Showtime has proven that a synergistic relationship between boxing and mixed martial arts can exist. If HBO still values capturing a new (and younger) audience, MMA should still represent an appealing option.
But what interest would Zuffa have in getting in bed with HBO four years removed from the failed ’07 deal?
The UFC continues to negotiate a new deal with Spike TV, a negotiation process that has gone worse than expected for the promotion. Spike countered the recent live UFC on Versus 3 card with a replay of an old UFC Fight Night and managed to best Versus in the ratings. The victory put Spike in a very powerful position. The potential of getting in bed with HBO as well as Versus would provide the UFC with the most valuable thing in these negotiations, viable options other than Spike.
Greenberg denies report that he was fired. Source says “He was absolutely fired.”
Greenburg said he was not renewing his contract and was not being dismissed.
I’ve accomplished everything I hoped for, he said in a telephone interview.He said that he was not renewing his contract, which was expiring soon, and that he had been thinking of leaving HBO for the last three months.
Greenburg said that the toll of dealing with promoters and managers made him want to leave. One promoter in particular, Bob Arum, has criticized HBO and Greenburg, saying they exert too much control over boxing and do not make the most competitive matchups.
Arum’s displeasure with HBO led Pacquiao, whom he promotes, to fight on Showtime Pay-Per-View, which got a marketing assist from CBS’s heavy promotion. The problem HBO Sports got into, Arum said in May, is they became defenders of the status quo.
One promoter, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid losing business with HBO, said: He was absolutely fired. The guy’s been twisting in the wind for months. They’ve been looking for a replacement.
