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NEW YORK (April 13, 2018) – Facebook FIGHTNIGHT LIVE has showcased up-and-coming professional fighters since its inception 11 months ago, and next, the fan-friendly combat sports series looks to give fans a true preview of some blockbuster coming attractions. Boxing fans who want a first look at the future of the sport can tune in on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET via any device wherever Facebook is available and catch upstate New York’s Olympic hopefuls live from Rochester on “The Road To Gold In Tokyo.”
“It’s been our mission since Day 1 to provide a platform for those young fighters who can really benefit from exposure to an audience of 100,000 or more on our Facebook channel,” said Mark Fratto, Principal of Linacre Media. “FIGHTNIGHT LIVE now takes this effort one step further by showcasing a young star in National Silver Gloves Champ Manny Gonzalez, and other U.S. National Team/USA Boxing hopefuls, live from the Main Street Armory in Rochester this weekend.”
Now approaching 1.4 million views for the series, Saturday’s “Road To Gold” continues FIGHTNIGHT LIVE’s meteoric 11-month rise, which has already included six live shows in the first three months of 2018.
“As someone who has managed six world champions and numerous other boxing contenders over a thirty-year span, I am proud and excited to be an adviser to Fight Factory in presenting this unique program in conjunction with Linacre Media. Having managed three former American Olympians – Oscar De La Hoya, Larry Donald and Lawrence Clay Bey – I know that this series has a true opportunity to discover Olympic talent with the hope of bringing Olympic Gold back to the United States,” said Road To Gold adviser Stephen Nelson.
This Saturday’s three-plus hour show will feature Angel “Manny” Gonzalez, who captured the 110-lbs. crown at the 2018 National Silver Gloves Tournament, following up on his 2017 Silver Gloves national title. Other promising young amateurs to watch include the No. 1-ranked nine/ten year-old at 70 lbs. and 2018 Silver Gloves champion Fynest Cummings, the No. 2-ranked eight year-old and 2018 Silver Gloves silver medalist Javier Mitchell and four-time National Golden Gloves champion Lawrence “I Have A Dream” King, who works in the Monroe County Sherriff’s Department when not serving as a sparring partner for notable professional boxers.
“The Road to Gold is going to be a top-shelf amateur event that will create a solid platform for many local fighters. As the head trainer of Top 10 ranked professional boxer Willie Monroe Jr., and a positive role model in the community, we are just trying to give back to these kids who work so hard inside and outside of the gym,” said T.J. Nolan of Rochester Fight Factory. “These young athletes deserve to showcase their talents to the world and we are providing an opportunity for them to do so through this event. I am excited to see these young athletes get a chance show the world what they are made of.”
Over the first 10-plus months of programming, the numbers on the 16-show FIGHTNIGHT LIVE series have showed promise and potential for the new platform with an average of 86,393 fight fans tuning in per event and almost 1.4 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) and the March 17 Murphy’s “St. Patrick’s Day Clash” (150,001) all logged 150,000 or more views, and collectively the 16-show series has seen a total of more than 29,000 total hours of Facebook video consumed by 1,382,290 users across all devices.
n addition to the raw viewership numbers, the fully-interactive, fan-friendly productions have seen more than 171,000 collective live post engagements (more than 10,500 per show), including more than 115,000 “likes” or “loves,” more than 29,000 comments and more than 9,000 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” and the March 17 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 80,000 fans and more than 83,000 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, April 14, live from live from the Main Street Armory in Rochester, N.Y., 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 Ray Flores of Premier Boxing Champions, Showtime Boxing, HBO Boxing and CBS Sports Network. Joining Flores is Rochester native and two-time world title challenger and top contender Willie “Mongoose” Monroe, Jr., and area sportscaster John DiTullio from The Brother Wease Show and DiTullio and Moran, both carried via I Heart Media stations. To provide spectators with a fully-interactive ringside experience, commentators will ask and respond to questions from the Facebook audience throughout the broadcast.
“As someone who is proud to represent the Rochester community, I couldn’t be more proud of our own local boxers who will be participating in this weekend’s Road to Gold in Tokyo amateur boxing event at the Main Street Armory,” said Monroe. “I know the hard work and dedication it takes and I know that they have what it takes to make us all proud. I salute each and every one of them.”
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 Spring and Summer 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. |
