NEW YORK (Oct. 18, 2018) – As the legally-regulated and sanctioned Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) hosts its third event this Saturday, Oct. 20, in Biloxi, Mississippi, fans on Facebook will get a FREE sneak preview featuring the largest living legend of the sport and a warrior who has shared the ring with the likes of Roy Jones Jr. and James Toney – former gloved boxing IBA Cruiserweight titleholder and Bare Knuckle Champion Bobby Gunn.
Fans from across the globe can catch all the action for FREE from 8-9 p.m. ET on any device wherever Facebook is available, before the BKFC Pay Per View program begins via a multitude of providers.
“We have a great opportunity on Saturday to showcase both traditional boxing with our CES show live from Foxwoods, as well as this third bare knuckle event since BKFC’s launch earlier in the year,” said Mark Fratto, Principal and Director of Business Development, Linacre Media. “The great thing about our FIGHTNIGHT LIVE platform is you can watch both live and on-demand, so you don’t have to miss a second of either show. FIGHTNIGHT LIVE is all about providing opportunities for different athletes to showcase their skills, so fans can find their favorites and choose who watch, when. You get some outstanding contenders and prospects on the CES show, and you get a legend like Bobby Gunn on the hour-long BKFC freeview.”
“We are not just building a company, but we are building a sport and a brand. Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship is ushering a new era in combat sports,” said BKFC founder and president David Feldman. “Bobby is a legend. Joe Pegg vs Rusty Crowder will be fireworks, these are two guys with an opportunity to really make a name for themselves. Mike Bissett vs Aaron Brink is a fight with that I am looking forward to. Two guys that will be in forward motion all night long. This is a great way to kick off this card!”
Gunn, a living legend in the bareknuckle game, will compete for the Light Heavyweight Police Gazette Championship as part of the BKFC freeview on FIGHTNIGHT LIVE. The hour-long show will also showcase the first round of the BKFC Lightweight Tournament Quarterfinal matchup between Joe Pegg and Rusty Crowder.
Now in its second season, FIGHTNIGHT LIVE Powered by Everlast is the fan-friendly series that – among other aspects – prides itself on the real-time conversations held between fight commentators and the viewing audience. FIGHTNIGHT LIVE has showcased more than 380 fighters and 11 promotions during 20 live event broadcasts since May 2017, and in doing so, the interactive platform has generated the loyal interest of fight fans from across the United States and around the globe, including significant audiences in Mexico, the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe, and even fans in South America, Asia and Australia.
- Since May 2017, the numbers on the 20-show FIGHTNIGHT LIVE series showed promise and potential for the new platform with an average of 125,600 views per event and more than 2.5 million total views for the franchise.
- The Sept. 2018 “Kings Boxing Tuesday Night Fights” (594,447) from the Sands in Bethlehem, the Oct. 2018 “Hard Hitting Philly Special” (297,545), the Sept. 2017 “Real Deal Promotions: Empire State” from Resorts World Casino (225,000), the August 2017 CES “Super Saturday” from Foxwoods (203,000), the Sept. 2018 “Card Fit For Kings” from Philadelphia (195,620), the Sept. 2017 CES “Twin River Twinbill” from Lincoln, R.I. (157,000) and the March 17, 2018, Murphy’s “St. Patrick’s Day Clash” (151,253) all logged 150,000 or more views, and collectively the 20-show series has seen a total of more than 49,000 total hours of Facebook video consumed by 2,512,006 users across all devices.
- In addition to the raw viewership numbers, the fully-interactive, fan-friendly productions have seen more than 227,600 collective live post engagements (more than 11,300 per show), including more than 165,000 “likes” or “loves,” more than 36,000 comments and almost 12,000 shares.
- FIGHTNIGHT LIVE broadcasts are viewed by 76 percent men, 24 percent women. The top demographic is comprised of males ages 25-34, which encompasses approximately 30.0 percent of the audience, on average.
- The Sept. 2018 “Kings Boing Tuesday Night Fights” from the Sands in Bethlehem set a new bar with 594,447 views and the Sept. 2017 DiBella-CES doubleheader carried the series to three-quarters-of-a-million views in just over four months. The Sept. 2018 King’s Promotions show stands out individually with 11,256 live hours of content viewed, while the Sept. 2017 DiBella card saw more than 40,000 viewer interactions including almost 39,000 “likes” or “loves” and the March 17, 2018, Murphy’s “St. Patrick’s Day Clash” set a new high-water mark for shares with 2,182.
- The FIGHTNIGHT LIVE page on Facebook has more than 82,000 fans and more than 86,000 followers. And Facebook itself has taken notice – the world’s No. 1 social network recently profiled FIGHTNIGHT LIVE on its “Success Stories” media blog, noting the series’ use of industry best practices for production and interactivity: https://www.facebook.com/facebookmedia/success-stories/fightnight
Created and produced by Linacre Media out of New York City, the FIGHTNIGHT LIVE series features professional announcers, multiple camera angles, television graphics, replays and behind-the-scenes access and interviews. The streamed shows are available globally wherever Facebook is available. The initiative not only enables fans from around the world to tune in, but also gives up-and-coming fighters a global platform to showcase their abilities, gives promoters an accessible “broadcast” solution and gives sponsors the ability to reach a mass audience via branded content.
More FIGHTNIGHT LIVE Fall and Winter 2018 dates will be officially announced in the coming weeks.
Follow all the action via social media at FaceFIGHTNIGHTLIVE on Facebook, @FaceFIGHTNIGHTLIVE on Instagram and@FIGHTNIGHTLIVE_ on Twitter, or by using the hashtag #FIGHTNIGHTLIVE. For the latest Linacre Media events and broadcast schedule, follow @LinacreMedia across all social platforms or use the tags #LinacreMediaEvents or #LinacreMediaOnTV.
