NEW YORK (Feb. 20, 2018) – Facebook FIGHTNIGHT LIVE continues its tripleheader weekend with a Murphys Boxing matinee on Saturday, live from the Mohegan Sun Ballroom in Connecticut. Fight fans from across the nation and around the globe can catch an outstanding card with international appeal on any device wherever Facebook is available from 3-7 p.m., brought to fans by the promotion born out of the Dropkick Murphys popular Celtic punk band.

“Times are changing for boxing just like streaming changed music. With the built-in audiences we have we are reaching a higher viewership with our streams than many of the televised fight cards are these days. We are proud of the fights we are putting on and the big audiences we are drawing, and it’s great for our fighters to get the exposure,” said Ken Casey, Dropkick Murphys Frontman and President and Founder, Murphys Boxing.

Recently hitting the 1,000,000 views mark, Saturday afternoon’s show continues FIGHTNIGHT LIVE’s historic Feb. 23-24 back-to-back-to-back Friday and Saturday shows spanning from the casinos of New England to the Boardwalk of Atlantic City. The Dropkick Murphys are live in concert at Mohegan Sun Arena for fans onsite after Murphys Boxing, but ringside access on the Facebook FIGHTNIGHT LIVE channel takes viewers to the Jersey Shore after the closing bell in Uncasville, Conn.

“We’re excited about Saturday, and also to begin a two-fight promotion with Murphys Boxing,” said Mark Fratto, Principal of Linacre Media. “The card is filled with undefeated up-and-comers with international appeal, and Facebook is a terrific medium to deliver these great fights and outstanding athletes to a global audience. We’re thrilled that the Murphys are part of the action and can’t wait to hoist a pint with them during our St. Patrick’s Day show in Boston as well.”

Murphys Boxing action at Mohegan Sun on Saturday afternoon features a battle for the WBA-NABA light heavyweight title between undefeated Charles Foster (14-0, 8 KOs) of New Haven, Conn. and Justin Thomas (19-3, 7 KOs) of Baton Rouge, La. A bevy of unbeaten battlers will be featured on a packed undercard that includes heavyweight Niall Kennedy (10-0, 6 KOs), super featherweight William Foster III (4-0, 3 KOs), super middleweight Carlos Gongora (10-0, 8 KOs), super featherweight Abraham Nova (9-0, 8 KOs) and super lightweight Ray Jay Bermudez (2-0, 1 KO).

Over the first nine-plus months of programming, the numbers on the 12-show FIGHTNIGHT LIVE series have showed promise and potential for the new platform with an average of close to 90,000 fight fans tuning in per event and more than one-million fans served.

The Sept. 9 “Real Deal Promotions: Empire State” from Resorts World Casino (225,000), the August CES “Super Saturday” from Foxwoods (203,000), the Sept. CES “Twin River Twinbill” from Lincoln, R.I. (157,000) all topped 150,000 views, and collectively the 12-show series saw a total of more than 21,000 total hours of Facebook video consumed by 1,067,435-plus users across all devices.

In addition to the raw viewership numbers, the fully-interactive, fan-friendly productions have seen more than 142,000 collective live post engagements (nearly 12,000 per show), including almost 97,000 “likes” or “loves,” more than 22,000 comments and almost 6,000 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. 9 “Real Deal Promotions: Empire State” set a new bar with 224,658 views and the Sept. 15-16 DiBella-CES doubleheader carried the series to three-quarters-of-a-million views in just over four months. The Feb. 10 Hard-Hitting Promotions “Philly Fight Night” show stands out individually with 3,421 live hours of content viewed, while the Sept. 15 DiBella card saw more than 40,000 viewer interactions including almost 39,000 “likes” or “loves.”

The FIGHTNIGHT LIVE page on Facebook has more than 80,000 fans and more than 82,000 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

            Facebook FIGHTNIGHT LIVE has been delivered to fans absolutely free since its May 2017 launch courtesy of series corporate partners like Elite Heat Water, Montauk Iced Tea (montaukbev.com), Mr. Custom Made(mrcustommade.com) and BallWash (ballwash.com).

On Saturday afternoon, Feb. 24, live from live from Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn., fans can expect a high-impact, multi-camera streaming experience complete with graphics, animations, replays, interviews and an announce team anchored by blow-by-blow announcer Vladimir Lik of The RING, Round By Round Boxing and the Russian language newspaper Russkaya Reklama, and analyst Xavier Porter of BrooklynFights.com and Notorious Boxing. To provide spectators with a fully-interactive ringside experience, commentators will ask and respond to questions from the Facebook audience throughout the broadcast.

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 Winter/Spring 2018 dates will be officially announced in the coming weeks.

FIGHTNIGHT LIVE is available online at: https://www.facebook.com/FaceFIGHTNIGHTLIVE/

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.