PBC Brings Product To Amazon, New Deal Starts 2024

Amazon is my go to for books, dog food, beard dye, etc etc—and now they will be a purveyor of pro boxing. Prime Video and Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) announced a “landmark, multiyear rights agreement to deliver viewers the boxing industry’s most significant events, providing fans with year-round access to the best matchups featuring the biggest stars in boxing.”

PBC and Amazon…wrap your brain around that.

The Al Haymon-led outfit will have their PPVs offered through the Amazon platform, and there will also be non-PPV events from PBC on Prime Video.

PBC kicked off in 2015, looking to get boxing back to a golden age, seeking mass attention with a push to get it back on “network” TV.

But the world kept changing, network TV had ceded market share to cable, and now cable started to feel the heat, from “OTT” or streaming stations, cablers, streamers, everyone has been reacting to changing tech and tastes–DAZN looked to corner market share with their entry into the fight game, but PBC on Amazon could be seen as a one-up play.

PBC Has Had A Solid Year

Terence Crawford delivered a shocking beatdown of Errol Spence Jr. in July. Photo: Ryan Hafey, Premier Boxing Champions

This year has been maybe the best for PBC. It presented David Benavidez vs. Caleb Plant, Gervonta “Tank” Davis vs. Ryan Garcia, and Errol Spence vs. Terence Crawford on Showtime’s platform.

But Paramount shut down Showtime Sports, so PBC needed a new home platform base.

PBC/Amazon Marriage Signals Streamers’ Strength

Hardcores know that PBC worked with Fox and placed content on their platform(s), but that deal ran its course, and then the news that Showtime boxing….so Haymon and company looked around and found a partner with the bucks and eyeball base which fit:

“The addition of a world-class sports property like PBC is another one of the many benefits that come with Prime, which provides unparalleled savings, convenience, and entertainment, all in a single membership,” reads the release showing out the news.

Nope, no financials mentioned…or length of contract.

The first event in this new arrangement will run March 2024. PBC PPV fights will be available for all viewers to purchase, one doesn’t have to sign on to Amazon Prime to watch a PBC PPV next year.

It’s not totally clear if Prime will be the sole place for PBC scraps, or if there will be other shoes or a shoe to drop regarding other platform partners. For now, it looks like PBC and Amazon are getting hitched, no other players involved.

PBC PPV events will still be on cable/satellite, I’ve been happy to purchase off PPV.COM, and will continue.

Me, I’m already a subscriber to Amazon Prime. I pay $14.99 a month, I could shift to the annual plan, which is $139 a year.

Yes, boxing fans, much has changed but much is still the same, you will be needing to subscribe to a few platforms to watch content from the various “leagues,” and that trend will continue.

Prime Video “will exclusively stream a PBC Championship Boxing series of events, showcasing top matchups among boxing’s current and rising stars….In addition to the live PBC events, Prime Video will continue to grow its Original sports content offerings, with behind-the-scenes PBC docuseries, live weigh-ins, as well as on-demand access to previous events, highlights, archival footage, and more,” for the record.

Amazon Exec Welcomes Boxing To the PBC Mix

“We are thrilled to join with Premier Boxing Champions to bring the best boxers in the world to Prime Video, and to give more fans than ever the chance to experience these must-see events,” said Marie Donoghue, VP, U.S. sports content & partnerships, Amazon. “With live coverage of PBC action throughout the calendar year, Prime Video continues to bring viewers in the U.S. and around the world the best in sports.”

Amazon has been dipping toes into the sports waters for a bit; they gained rights to NFL games in 2017, and have been doing more sports, because sports is a “must watch now”category, which is sought after.

“Premier Boxing Champions is very proud to partner with Prime Video to showcase our world-class boxers and events. With Prime’s incredible reach and unprecedented marketing power, we’re very excited to reach new audiences for our sport as we continue to present the most exciting, competitive and biggest fights in Boxing,” said Bruce Binkow, CEO, Integrated Sports, exclusive agency for PBC.

Binkow used to work with Golden Boy, and after that fracture (Richard Schaefer and Oscar split) he emerged as a vital cog in the Haymon boxing universe.

We are promised, “Fans will be able to watch PBC live at home or on the go, and across hundreds of compatible devices, streaming from the web, or using the Prime Video app on smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes, game consoles, and connected TVs.”

There’s cause for some optimism, right? Now it’s execution time–fingers crossed this alliance benefits all parties, and the PBC momentum continues into the new year.