Tag Archives: Showtime Sports

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SHOWTIME® ACQUIRES AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY RINGSIDE

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RINGSIDE Chronicles The Lives And Struggles Of Two Boxing Prodigies Coming Of Age On Chicago’s South Side

Premieres On Friday, June 12 At 8:30 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME

NEW YORK – May 4, 2020 – SHOWTIME announced today it has acquired rights to the award-winning documentary RINGSIDE, which chronicles the dramatic upbringing of two boxing prodigies and follows the divergent paths they take as they navigate life’s uncertainties on the South Side of Chicago. Filmed over the course of nine years by award-winning director Andre Hörmann, RINGSIDE will premiere on SHOWTIME on Friday, June 12 at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT.

Winner of the Silver Hugo Award at the Chicago International Film Festival, RINGSIDE documents the lives of Kenneth Sims Jr., Destyne Butler Jr., and their dedicated fathers who train them, and their aspirations of surviving one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the nation to achieve boxing glory. Hörmann teamed up with award-winning cinematographer Tom Bergmann and editor Vincent Assmann in 2009 to begin following the gifted young athletes. Starting with their U.S. Olympic® Boxing Team Trials, the filmmakers captured pivotal moments over nine years as the young men’s choices and circumstances changed, leading them down separate paths – one towards a promising boxing career and the other through the prison system.

“Filmed over the course of nine years, RINGSIDE is a complex, emotional account of two youths fighting to survive both professionally and personally,” said Stephen Espinoza, President, Sports and Event Programming, Showtime Networks Inc. “This remarkable film follows two gifted young boxers and the fathers who guide them, as they strive to overcome a seemingly never-ending series of personal and societal obstacles. The result is a moving story about hope, ambition, self-discipline, resilience and redemption. It is this type of provocative story, at the intersection of sports and society, that has become the hallmark of SHOWTIME Sports Documentary Films.”

Both young men achieved remarkable success in their amateur careers. Sims amassed over 250 amateur fights, winning numerous national titles, and after his professional debut in 2014, became a sought-after sparring partner for Manny Pacquiao and Jorge Linares among others. He has made four appearances on the SHOWTIME prospect developmental series ShoBox: The New Generation to date. Conversely, Butler fell in with a burglary ring and served time in prison. He returned to boxing following his release in 2018, winning the Chicago Golden Gloves. He now stands undefeated following nine professional bouts.

A Sutor Kolonko and Motto Pictures production in association with Blue Ice Docs and Mitten Media, RINGSIDE is produced by two-time Academy Award® nominee and Emmy® Award winner Julie Goldman, Emmy Award winner Ingmar Trost and Emmy and Peabody Award winner Christopher Clements. The executive producers are Ken Pelletier, Mark Mitten and Carolyn Hepburn.

RINGSIDE is the latest in culturally relevant unscripted programming from SHOWTIME SPORTS DOCUMENTARY FILMS that spotlights contemporary subject matter. New customers who sign up on SHOWTIME.com and the SHOWTIME app can take advantage of a 30-day free trial for the SHOWTIME streaming service, available on SHOWTIME.com and the SHOWTIME app on all supported devices.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly owned subsidiary of ViacomCBS Inc., owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, and also offers SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND and FLIX ON DEMAND®, and the network’s authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME®. Showtime Digital Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of SNI, operates the stand-alone streaming service SHOWTIME®. SHOWTIME is currently available to subscribers via cable, DBS, and telco providers, and as a stand-alone streaming service through Amazon, Apple®, Google, LG Smart TVs, Oculus Go, Roku®, Samsung Smart TVs and Xbox One. Consumers can also subscribe to SHOWTIME via Amazon’s Prime Video Channels, Apple TV Channels, AT&T TV Now, FuboTV, Hulu, The Roku Channel, Sling TV and YouTube TV. Viewers can also watch on computers at Showtime.com. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®. For more information, go to www.SHO.com. 

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SHOWTIME Sports Confirms Aug. 26 SHOWTIME PPV® Presentation Of Mayweather vs. McGregor Second Biggest Pay-Per-View Of All Time

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Photo Credit: Esther Lin/SHOWTIME

 

SHOWTIME SPORTS confirmed today that the SHOWTIME PPV presentation of Mayweather vs. McGregor on August 26, 2017 generated 4.3 million pay-per-view buys in North America. This includes traditional television distribution and online portals such as the new SHOWTIME PPV app and SHOWTIMEPPV.com as well as UFC.TV in U.S. and Canada.

 

Mayweather vs. McGregor, a four-fight SHOWTIME PPV boxing event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, officially stands as the second largest pay-per-view event of all time behind Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, which set the North American pay-per-view mark at 4.6 million buys in 2015. The SHOWTIME PPV totals for Mayweather vs. McGregor far exceed the now third best event in history—nearly doubling the 2.48 million buys for Oscar De La Hoya vs. Mayweather in 2007. 

 

The total global revenue from the event including ticket sales, sponsorship and international distribution exceeds $600 million, which—along with Mayweather vs. Pacquiao— is among the largest for a single-day sporting event of all time. Mayweather and SHOWTIME PPV now account for the three highest grossing pay-per-view events in television history with the third-ranked event Mayweather vs. Canelo from 2013.

boxing, Showtime, Showtime Boxing

SHOWTIME SPORTS® ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY SERIES “ALL ACCESS” WINS SPORTS EMMY® AWARD FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR

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NEW YORK (May 11, 2016) – SHOWTIME Sports original documentary series “ALL ACCESS” earned a Sports Emmy Award for the third consecutive year on Tuesday night, taking home the honor for “Outstanding Edited Sports Coverage” for “ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Berto Epilogue” at the 37th Annual Sports Emmy Award ceremony in New York City.

 

“The boxing business and the characters within it present unique challenges to anyone attempting to document it,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports.  “The ability to produce award-winning work in this sport year-after-year is testament to the excellence of this production team.  On behalf of everyone that contributes to this great franchise – from the field to the edit facility, working all hours of the day and the night – we are grateful for and inspired by this award.”

 

This is the second Sports Emmy ALL ACCESS has earned in the “Outstanding Edited Sports Coverage” category.  The series, which chronicles the buildup and aftermath of boxing’s biggest prizefights, won its first Sports Emmy Award at the 2014 ceremony for “Outstanding Edited Sports Coverage” with “ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Canelo Epilogue.”

 

In 2015, the revealing documentary series earned the overarching “Outstanding Sports Documentary Series” Emmy Award for its four separate multi-episode installments of ALL ACCESS.  That year, the network documented the first and second showdowns between Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana, Canelo Alvarez vs. Alfredo Angulo and Canelo Alvarez vs. Erislandy Lara.

 

SHOWTIME Sports has earned nine Sports Emmy Awards in the last five years for the premium networks’ programming.

 

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, and also offers SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND and FLIX ON DEMAND®, and the network’s authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME®. Showtime Digital Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of SNI, operates the stand-alone streaming service SHOWTIME®. SHOWTIME is currently available to subscribers via cable, DBS and telco providers, and as a stand-alone streaming service through Apple®, Roku®, Amazon and Google. Consumers can also subscribe to SHOWTIME via Hulu, Sony PlayStation® Vue and Amazon Prime Video. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks™, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel™ and Smithsonian Earth™. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV. For more information, go towww.SHO.com.

 

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SHOWTIME SPORTS® CONTINUES CELEBRATION OF 30 YEARS OF SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® WITH PAULIE AYALA-JOHNNY TAPIA I & II, PLUS ISRAEL VAZQUEZ-RAFAEL MARQUEZ I, II & III

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UNRIVALED “RIVALRIES”

 Click HERE to Watch Round 12 From Ayala-Tapia I & Tune-In Tonight To Re-Live The Full Fight (SHO EXTREME® at 10 p.m. ET/PT)

Photo Credit: Tom Casino/SHOWTIME

 

NEW YORK (Feb. 4, 2016) – Round 2 of the SHOWTIME Sports® 12-round celebration commemorating 30 years of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® continues in February with “Rivalries’’ onSHO EXTREME®.

 

This month will be highlighted by five of the most exhilarating and memorable fights in boxing history: the two Paulie Ayala-Johnny Tapiabattles and the first three Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez wars.

 

Ayala-Tapia I was 1999 Fight of the Year; Ayala was 1999 Fighter of the Year.

 

The initial three Vazquez-Marquez showdowns are universally acknowledged as among the best of all-time and were consensus Fight of the Year winners in 2007 and ’08.  Additionally, the third round of Vazquez-Marquez II earned Round of the Year honors in ’07 while the fourth of Vazquez-Marquez III was 2008 Round of the Year.

 

These epic rivalries will air on “Throwback Thursdays” all month long at10 p.m. ET/PT on SHO EXTREME and are available on SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, SHOWTIME ANYTIME® and via the network’s online streaming service.  Each fight will be wrapped with brief context and commentary from SHOWTIME Sports host Brian Custer.

 

Below is the schedule of SHOWTIME EXTREME premieres for the month of February:

  • Today/Thursday, Feb. 4: Ayala vs. Tapia I
  • Thursday, Feb. 11: Ayala vs. Tapia II
  • Thursday, Feb. 18: Vazquez vs. Marquez I & II
  • Thursday, Feb. 25: Vazquez vs. Marquez III

 

In celebration of the best rivalries on SHOWTIME, see below for a special column from SHOWTIME Sports expert analyst and boxing historian Steve Farhood.

 

 

RIVALRIES

By Steve Farhood

 

Boxing without rivalries would be like elections without debates.

 

Rivalries are natural, especially in boxing. Who is the best prospect in the neighborhood?

Who is the best bantamweight in Mexico? Who is the best fighter in the entire world?

 

Fans want to know, and so do the fighters, especially if a one-on-one matchup is likely to provide a definitive answer.

 

The best example comes from the best rivalry in history, regardless of sport: When Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier clashed in their rubber match in Manila, they were fighting for something much greater than the world heavyweight title. They were fighting for the championship of each other.

 

Ali-Frazier … Robinson-LaMotta … Louis-Schmeling … Barrera-Morales … Mayweather-Pacquiao … Pep-Saddler … Leonard-Duran … Holyfield-Tyson: Boxing history has been told through its juiciest rivalries.

 

In 30 years of memorable fighters and unforgettable fights, SHOWTIME boxing’s history can largely be told through its rivalries as well.

 

On SHOWTIME EXTREME, we’ll be focusing on two rivalries in particular: Rafael Marquez-Israel Vazquez and Paulie Ayala-Johnny Tapia.

 

Marquez-Vazquez is the equal of any pairing in recent history. So compelling were the battles, so consuming was the rivalry that many fans can’t tell you what the final scoreboard read. It didn’t matter all that much.

 

(Fittingly, the fighters split four bouts.)

 

What made Marquez-Vazquez different from most rivalries: They were defined more by similarities than differences. Most rivalries feature stark contrast. Think Borg-McEnroe. Or Bird-Magic. Or Evert-Navratilova. But Marquez and Vazquez were both classy champions from Mexico who needed each other to raise their profiles and all-time standings.

 

They gave us no trash-talking, no posturing, no hatred, real or imagined. Instead, they punched and bled and fought proudly and at the highest level. And because of the classic ring drama they created, that was more than enough.

 

Suffice to say that two of their bouts were chosen as Fight of the Year. And Marquez-Vazquez III was surely among the best fights I’ve covered live in my 37 years in boxing.

It was a bit different with Ayala and Tapia. When they first fought, Ayala wasn’t a familiar name. Tapia, on the other hand, was an undefeated and long-reigning champion with a unique personality and a distinctive ring persona.

 

A suitable rival is exactly what Tapia needed to fully realize the potential that we sensed when he soundly defeated New Mexico rival Danny Romero two years before.

 

A pair of controversial decisions, the contentiousness that marked the negotiations preceding the rematch, and Tapia’s raw emotion made Ayala-Tapia a particularly bitter rivalry.

 

It was a memorable rivalry as well.

 

# # #

 

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, and also offers SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND and FLIX ON DEMAND®, and the network’s authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME®. Showtime Digital Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of SNI, operates the stand-alone streaming service SHOWTIME®. SHOWTIME is currently available to subscribers via cable, DBS and telco providers, and as a stand-alone streaming service through Apple®, Roku®, Amazon and Google. Consumers can also subscribe to SHOWTIME via Hulu, Sony PlayStation® Vue and Amazon Prime Video. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks™, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel™, and offers Smithsonian Earth™ through SN Digital LLC. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV. For more information, go to www.SHO.com.

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SHOWTIME SPORTS® TO HONOR ANNIVERSARY OF ISRAEL VAZQUEZ-RAFAEL MARQUEZ RIVARLY WITH CLASSIC FIGHTS, ROUNDS, PHOTOS, STATS & MORE

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 Full Fights To Be Offered On SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME ANYTIME®

& SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® Beginning With Vazquez-Marquez I

TONIGHT At 10 p.m. ET/PT On SHOWTIME EXTREME

 

Click on the image to watch the 2007 Round of the Year

http://s.sho.com/1CjL597

 

Photo Credit: Tom Casino/SHOWTIME

 

NEW YORK (March 3, 2015) – SHOWTIME Sports will offer boxing fans a chance to relive one of boxing’s most intense and brutal rivalries as it rolls out content in celebration of the classic showdowns between Mexican legends Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez.

 

Tonight, on the eighth anniversary of their epic first battle, SHOWTIME EXTREME (10 p.m. ET/PT) will present Vazquez-Marquez I, a unanimous selection of 2007 Fight of the Year.  Then on Wednesday, Vazquez-Marquez II, an old-school slugfest that produced a Round of the Year Winner, will air at 11 p.m. ET/PT.  The third installment, the 2008 Fight of The Year, will air on Thursday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME

 

Plus, Vazquez-Marquez I-IV will air in a “Roadblock” this Saturday on SHOWTIME EXTREME beginning at Noon ET/PT.

 

In honor of the rivalry, SHOWTIME Sports will also release classic photos, quick-hitting highlights, stats as well as full rounds.  The third round from Vazquez-Marquez I and the third round from Vazquez-Marquez II (2007 Round of the Year) will be available on YouTube, Facebook and the SHOWTIME Sports website.  Additionally, The Boxing Blog will release three posts from SHOWTIME boxing analyst and historian Steve Farhood as he looks back on the first three epic meetings between the 122-pound warriors.

 

All four Vazquez-Marquez fights will be available on SHOWTIME ANYTIME andSHOWTIME ON DEMAND beginning Monday, March 9.  Below is the full schedule of action on SHOWTIME EXTREME:

 

TODAY/Tuesday, March 3

·         SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: Vazquez vs. Marquez I, 10 p.m. ET/PT

 

Wednesday, March 4

·         SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: Vazquez vs. Marquez II, 11 p.m. ET/PT

 

Thursday, March 5

·         SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: Vazquez vs. Marquez III, 10 p.m. ET/PT

 

Saturday, March 7

·         SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: Vazquez vs. Marquez I,Noon ET/PT

·         SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: Vazquez vs. Marquez II, 1 p.m. ET/PT

·         SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: Vazquez vs. Marquez III, 2 p.m. ET/PT

·         SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: Vazquez vs. Marquez IV, 3 p.m. ET/PT

 

Described by Farhood as “an explosion of artistic brutality,” their first meeting had all the action and drama of a Hollywood blockbuster and left fans –and the fighters– clamoring for a rematch.  Vazquez and Marquez delivered yet again in their second meeting just five months later in yet another old-school, bloody slugfest that produced a Round of the Year winner –the third– and a result that demanded a rubber match.

 

Vazquez-Marquez III, contested just 363 days from their first meeting, was a celebration of boxing at its finest, the only match in the rivalry to go the distance and the 2008 Fight of the Year.  The two would meet for the fourth and final time again in 2010.

 

# # #

 

About Showtime Networks Inc.:

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD™, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND, and the network’s authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME®. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel™. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.