ESPN Eliminates Rights Fees for FNF Series

Boxing's latest body blow is the news that, beginning in January, ESPN will be drastically reducing its financial commitment to its "Friday Night Fights'' series on ESPN2. While indicating that they will continue televising boxing, ESPN will no longer subsidize on-site promoters. Traditionally, the network has paid promoters a rights fee of $50,000 per show to cover expenses such as the fighters' purses. Now they'll get nothing and will have to offset that expense from the live gate or by packaging their own sponsorships. More risk shifted to promoters can only mean fewer fight cards and that's exactly what the sports does NOT need right now.