Boxing will soon return to free-to-air television in Britain, with the BBC having signed a broadcast deal with Boxxer, following the end of the promotion’s contract with Sky Sports.
Boxxer, led by founder and CEO Ben Shalom, signed a four-year deal with Sky in 2021, the conclusion of which has now arrived without the pay-per-view broadcaster opting to extend the partnership.
The Independent understood that a deal with the BBC would ensue, and the free-to-air broadcaster was announced as Boxxer’s new home on Friday (8 August).
A press release said that boxing will get a spot on “Saturday night primetime television” with the BBC, while the broadcaster’s iPlayer app will also stream certain fights.
“Full details of the first fight, undercard and BBC Sport presenting team will be announced in the coming weeks,” read the press release. “Selected undercard fights, features and behind-the-scenes content will also be available across BBC iPlayer.”
The BBC also vowed that the deal will “open boxing up to all audiences, making the sport more accessible than ever”.
In 1938, the BBC in fact aired the first televised boxing match in the UK: Eric Boon vs Arthur Danahar. The broadcaster has sporadically shown professional boxing in the decades since, but its deal with Boxxer marks its first consistent output of the sport in many years.
Viewers will be accustomed to the BBC airing amateur boxing, however, which it does at each edition of the Olympic Games.
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