Top Rank signs multi-year boxing deal with ESPN
August 29, 2017
ESPN has agreed a multi-year broadcast and streaming deal with boxing promoters Top Rank.
As part of the agreement Disney-owned ESPN will become the exclusive home of Top Rank boxing in North America. A selection of fights will be televised live across ESPN and ESPN Deportes channels in the US, and on TSN and RDS in Canada, while pay-per-view events will also be available.
Fight cards will also be streamed via the ESPN App, with a total of 18 event set to be available during the first year of the new partnership.
Burke Magnus, ESPN’s executive vice president of programming and scheduling, said: “ESPN is excited to announce this new relationship with Top Rank, the most comprehensive and innovative media agreement in the history of the sport.
The best fighters. In the best fights. This is boxing.
Top Rank & @ESPN. This is boxing. https://t.co/sHstEia8qr pic.twitter.com/N6ZWMsphm3
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) August 26, 2017
“We believe in a new vision for boxing that will super-serve existing boxing fans and create legions of new fans through the highest quality boxing content across multiple ESPN platforms – 365 days a year.
“Together, ESPN and Top Rank will build the superstars of tomorrow through unrivalled exposure, original content and cutting edge technology.”
Creative Artists Agency (CAA) served as Top Rank’s media advisor on the new deal and will now work in conjunction with ESPN to manage sponsorship sales plus the production of content.
Alan Gold, the head of CAA’s Sports Media Advisory practice, added: “The deal puts Top Rank and its best-in-class stable of global fighters at the core of ESPN’s combat sports offering across television, PPV and OTT.
“Top Rank has consistently and successfully built many of their fighters into global brands, and now will benefit significantly from ESPN’s broad distribution, sales and marketing support and outstanding storytelling.”
