Saturday’s Top Rank on ESPN saw pound-for-pound king Terence Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) retain his WBO welterweight world title with a fourth-round TKO over former welterweight world champion Kell Brook, in a main event from the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The fight delivered big on viewership, ranking as the top boxing telecast across all TV networks since January 2019.
- Crawford vs Brook averaged 1,758,000 viewers, making it the most viewed boxing telecast across on all TV networks since January 2019
- The main event was also the most viewed boxing telecast on cable since December 2018 (Lomachenko vs. Pedraza on ESPN: 1,889,000)
- The fight rating peaked during the 11:45 p.m.-12:00 a.m. ET quarter hour with 2.1 million viewers
- Through seven Saturday night telecasts on ESPN so far this year, Top Rank on ESPN has averaged 1,033,000 viewers, up 44% from 11 Saturday night telecasts in 2019
- Adults 18-49 are up 54% year-over-year
- Crawford vs. Brook ranked No. 1 as the most socially engaged boxing telecast across TV over the last two years, with over 306,000 total social interactions across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
- Crawford vs. Brook had a strong performance on social media, becoming the most socially engaged telecast across TV over the last two years, with over 306,000 social interactions across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
- Lomachenko vs. Lopez and Crawford vs. Brook have been the most socially engaged boxing telecasts across TV in consecutive months over the last two years.
These are numbers Bob Arum can take to the negotiations table. He’ll be a high sought-out content provider going forward.
Crawford hit Brook so hard with a right hand that it sent Kell flailing into the ropes. I think he literally was out on his feet and he got hit with left hooks that woke him back up. That was UNREAL! CRAWFORD IS AN AWESOME FIGHTER!
Clever, very clever strategy. Greediness of PPV aren’t paying well this time people are thirsty of some kind of entertainment, but not eager at all to disburse what could be meaning a good portin of food on the table. Great fights at hand for everyone!!!
If you build it they will come, if you put it on for free they will watch! Great strategy by Arum in these tough times. Reminds me of growing up with wide world of sports. Hopefully this trend will continue. Let the networks and the sponsors foot the bill while we the fans benefit! That’s the way it should be in America!