Friday Night Lights Out Explained

Presenter:Scott Hanson
Thomas Hearns
Dana Jacobson
Jimmy Smith
Antonio Tarver
Country:United States
Language:English
Camera:Multi-camera
Runtime:Various
Company:Spike
Network:Spike

Friday Night Lights Out is the branding[1] formally used for broadcasts of combat sports on the American cable network Spike (now Paramount Network).

The branding was first announced in January 2015 when, following a similar deal made by NBC, Spike[2] [3] announced they would air monthly fight cards by the Haymon Boxing-created "Premier Boxing Champions".[4] [5] [6]

The branding would eventually be phased out after Spike's deals with PBC and Glory ended, leaving only the network's mixed martial arts coverage.[7]

Coverage overview

The branding came about from a rotation of live combat sporting events on Spike that were commonly aired on Friday nights, which included mixed martial arts cards from the Viacom-owned Bellator MMA promotion, and kickboxing events by Glory. On those weeks in which there weren't any live fights, Spike intended on broadcasting “shoulder programming” designed to introduce viewers to fighters’ backstories and build momentum for grudge matches.[8] In 2015, Spike and Premiere Boxing Champions signed a two-year agreement, with negotiations for a third year in 2017 that never made it into the final paperwork.[9] The branding debuted on March 13, 2015 with Spike's first PBC fight card.[10] [11] [12]

Spike's final PBC card aired on January 13, 2017.[13] David Schwarz, Senior Vice President of Communications at Spike TV, said that one of the reasons for Spike deciding to discontinue its commitment to PBC was “a general dissatisfaction with the quality of cards being provided by PBC founder Al Haymon.”[14] [15] [16] [17]

Commentators

Antonio Tarver,[18] who served as a member of Spike's broadcast team, explained that "I remember back in the day when fighters started their careers on NBC. Network TV. That's how legendary stars were made. I think NBC and Spike are going to do the same for today's fighters."[19]

Joining Tarver on commentary was co-analyst Jimmy Smith,[20] [21] Dana Jacobson[22] [23] as host, Thomas Hearns as the pre-fight analyst, and Scott Hanson[24] as play-by-play announcer.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mr. Friday Night Lights Out? Joe Schilling eyes PBC Boxing in addition to Bellator and GLORY. MMAMania (SBNation). 10 April 2015 . Vox Media. 25 April 2015.
  2. Book: Christ, Scott. July 27, 2016. PBC on Spike preview: Adonis Stevenson vs Thomas Williams Jr.
  3. Web site: Spike TV President talks PBC: 'When would there be a better time to invest in boxing?'. Nash. John S.. March 13, 2015 . Bloody Elbow.
  4. Web site: Spike Gets In The Ring With Premier Boxing Champions. Spike.com. January 22, 2015. January 24, 2015.
  5. Web site: Premier Boxing Champions: Start Date, TV Schedule, Fighters for Spike TV Series . Bleacher Report. January 22, 2015. January 24, 2015.
  6. Web site: Spike TV to begin airing monthly PBC fights. January 24, 2015.
  7. Web site: Glory announces ESPN partnership and Glory 29 Copenhagen. © 2016 Vox Media, Inc.. 2016-02-26 . 2016-02-29.
  8. Web site: Cable expands on fight game. Encarnacao. Jack. March 15, 2015 . Boston Herald.
  9. News: Willis. George. April 15, 2017. Premier Boxing Champions will survive end of Spike TV deal. New York Post.
  10. Web site: Bellator's Jimmy Smith joins Antonio Tarver on Spike TV's Premier Boxing Champions. Juon. Steve . February 20, 2015. MMA Mania.
  11. Web site: PBC on Spike TV draws 581,000 viewers. September 14, 2015. MMA Payout.
  12. Web site: Premier Boxing Champions: Start Date, TV Schedule, Fighters for Spike TV Series. Mazique. Brian. Bleacher Report.
  13. Web site: Lara vs Foreman highlights: January 13, 2017. January 13, 2017. Premier Boxing Champions.
  14. Web site: The Truth About Premier Boxing Champions. Tate . Caryn A.. April 14, 2017. The Boxing Tribune.
  15. Web site: Premier Boxing Champions, Spike part ways -- at least for now. Christ. Scott. April 12, 2017. Bad Left Hook.
  16. Web site: Spike TV deal with Premier Boxing Champions has reached conclusion. Rafael. Dan. April 12, 2017. ESPN.
  17. Web site: Spike TV Ends Deal With Premier Boxing Champions Early Over Quality Of Fight Cards. April 13, 2017. Sports Business Daily.
  18. Web site: Antonio Tarver and Jimmy Smith named color analysts for "Premier Boxing Champions" series on Spike. Kowal. Eric. My MMA News. 19 February 2015 .
  19. Web site: Is HBO vs. Al Haymon Boxing's Next Big Fight?. Bleacher Report. 14 March 2015.
  20. Web site: With Premier Boxing Champions, Spike tries to give boxing what it gave to mixed martial arts. Thomas. Luke. March 13, 2015. MMA Fighting .
  21. Web site: PBC on Spike TV: Tarver, Smith Join Broadcast Team. February 19, 2015. BoxingScene.com.
  22. Web site: Dana Jacobson to host PBC on Spike monthly series. February 6, 2015. Premier Boxing Champions .
  23. Book: Hauser, Thomas. A Hard World: An Inside Look at Another Year in Boxing. September 2016 . University of Arkansas Press. 181. 9781610755979 .
  24. Book: February 11, 2015. Scott Hanson to announce monthly PBC fights on Spike TV.

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