Bounce TV sets records for average and peak viewers; ShoBox does best number since 2014
In so many ways that matter, 2017 is starting out as a departure from 2016 in boxing, and that’s a very good thing.
The fights fans want to see are being made: Already announced for 2017 are interesting fights like the April 29 heavyweight title bout between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko; the IBF welterweight title bout between Kell Brook and Errol Spence Jr. and, of course, the middleweight unification bout in New York between Gennady Golovkin and Daniel Jacobs.
The viewership numbers have been strong, too, and there was another indication of that on Friday. The Premier Boxing Champions put on a card that featured world title defenses by IBF lightweight champion Robert Easter Jr. and WBA bantamweight champion Rau’shee Warren.
That show did the best viewership numbers in Bounce history. It averaged 501,000 viewers and peaked at 557,000. Those were significant increases over its usual ratings. And it also drew a far younger-than-average audience, with a median age of 44 (meaning half are under 44 and half over 44).
Bounce’s target audience is African Americans, and the Friday card made Bounce a top-three network in ad-supported cable among 18-to-49-year-old African Americans on Friday.
Impressively, Bounce did those numbers going head-to-head with Showtime’s ShoBox series. Though Showtime did not release the actual viewership numbers, a spokesman confirmed that it was the most-viewed ShoBox card since April 18, 2014.
