Boxing on NBC
Encyclopedia
Gillette Cavalcade of Sports
The earliest incarnation of NBC's boxing telecasts could be traced back to 1944. Although technically, an anthology program, the Cavalcade of SportsGillette Cavalcade of Sports
The Gillette Cavalcade of Sports was an American network radio program and later television program that included broadcasts of a variety of sports, although it is primarily remembered by many for its focus on boxing.-Overview and background:...
was best known for Friday night boxing (from Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
) on NBC from 1944 through 1960, and (after NBC decided against featuring boxing due to sensitivity over criminal allegations in the sport) then for several more years on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. When Cavalcade of Sports closed up shop on June 24, 1960 after a 14-year period, it marked the longest continuous run of any boxing program in television history.
Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena
Another boxing program called Boxing from St. Nicholas ArenaBoxing from St. Nicholas Arena
Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena was an American sports program originally broadcast on NBC from 1946 to 1948, and later on the now-defunct DuMont Television Network from 1954 to 1956.-Broadcast history:The DuMont version was hosted by Chris Schenkel....
aired on NBC during the same period (more specifically, from 1946–1948) as the Cavalcade of Sports.
Partnership with Telemundo
In 2003, NBC entered a joint ventureJoint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
with Telemundo
Telemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
and boxing promotional group Main Events. On three consecutive Saturday afternoons - May 3, 10 and 17 - NBC Sports and Telemundo provided live coverage from the same Main Events-promoted boxing event. It marked the first time that NBC broadcast professional boxing since 1992, when SportsWorld
Sportsworld (U.S. TV series)
Sportsworld is an United States sports anthology series which aired on NBC on Saturday afternoons from 1978 until 1992.-Format:...
ended its run after 14 years.
The following year, NBC and Telemundo renewed their partnership with a series of five Saturday cards beginning April 17.
Commentators
- Marv AlbertMarv AlbertMarv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called...
- Teddy AtlasTeddy AtlasTheodore A. "Teddy" Atlas, Jr. is a well-known boxing trainer and fight commentator.-Personal life:...
- Atlas worked as boxing commentator for NBCOlympics on NBCNBC Sports' coverage of the Olympic Games consists of broadcasts on the various networks of NBC Universal in the United States, including the NBC broadcast network, Spanish language network Telemundo, and many of the company's cable networks....
's coverage of the Olympic Games in Sydney (2000Boxing at the 2000 Summer OlympicsThe boxing competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney was held over a period of sixteen days at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre in Darling Harbour...
), Athens (2004Boxing at the 2004 Summer OlympicsBoxing at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place in the Peristeri Olympic Boxing Hall. The event was only open to men and bouts were contested over four rounds of two minutes each...
) and Beijing (2008Boxing at the 2008 Summer OlympicsThe boxing program of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China was held at the Workers Indoor Arena.Medals were awarded in eleven events, with each event corresponding to a recognized weight division of male boxers...
). - Al BernsteinAl BernsteinAl Michael Bernstein is an American sportscaster, writer, stage performer, recording artist, and speaker.-1970s:In the 1970s, he was a newspaperman, working at Lerner Newspapers in Chicago. He eventually became a managing editor at that newspaper....
- In 1992 and 1996, he served as the boxing analyst for NBCOlympics on NBCNBC Sports' coverage of the Olympic Games consists of broadcasts on the various networks of NBC Universal in the United States, including the NBC broadcast network, Spanish language network Telemundo, and many of the company's cable networks....
's coverage of the Summer Olympic GamesSummer Olympic GamesThe Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...
. - Dick EnbergDick EnbergRichard Alan "Dick" Enberg is an American sportscaster. He currently provides play-by-play for telecasts of San Diego Padres baseball on 4SD, following a long career calling various sports for such networks as NBC, CBS, and ESPN...
- Ray ForrestRay ForrestRaymond Forrest was a radio staff announcer for NBC, pioneering TV announcer, host and news broadcaster from the very earliest TV era through the 1960s.-Early life and career:...
- Jim GrayJim Gray (sportscaster)Jim Gray is an American sportscaster. He has previously worked as a reporter with NBC Sports and CBS Sports. He is currently with Westwood One radio network, Showtime, Golf Channel, the Sacramento Kings, and ESPN/ESPN on ABC...
- Gray served as a reporter for NBC SportsNBC SportsNBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
coverage of Boxing at the 2008 Summer OlympicsBoxing at the 2008 Summer OlympicsThe boxing program of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China was held at the Workers Indoor Arena.Medals were awarded in eleven events, with each event corresponding to a recognized weight division of male boxers...
. - Wally Matthews
- Ferdie PachecoFerdie PachecoDr. Ferdie Pacheco was the cornerman for multiple boxing champions, most famously Muhammad Ali, for whom he was also a personal physician. Beginning in the late 1970s, Pacheco was a TV boxing analyst for several networks, most notably Showtime. Pacheco is also a prolific author and painter...
- Pacheco moved on to become a televisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
boxing analyst, working for NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
and UnivisionUnivisionUnivision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
. He became Showtime's featured boxing analyst in the early 1980s and continued his association with that network until his retirement from TV in the late 1990s, covering many memorable fights along the way. - Bob PapaBob PapaBob Papa is an American sportscaster. Papa is employed by NFL Network, HBO, and the New York Giants.-Biography:Papa grew up in Dumont, New Jersey and graduated from Bergen Catholic High School in nearby Oradell...
- Papa has worked on NBCOlympics on NBCNBC Sports' coverage of the Olympic Games consists of broadcasts on the various networks of NBC Universal in the United States, including the NBC broadcast network, Spanish language network Telemundo, and many of the company's cable networks....
's coverage of the Olympics since 19921992 Summer OlympicsThe 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
, as he covered boxing at the most recent Summer Olympics2008 Summer OlympicsThe 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
. - Jimmy Powers
- Fred RogginFred RogginFred Roggin is the sports anchor at KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, California. He was also a sports talk radio host at KMPC in Los Angeles, and until Fall 2007 hosted a morning sports show on KLAC with Los Angeles Times sports columnist T.J. Simers and Simers' daughter, Tracy Simers...
- He served as a host for NBC SportsNBC SportsNBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics2008 Summer OlympicsThe 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
. - Tim RyanTim Ryan (sportscaster)Tim Ryan is an American sportscaster, currently a resident of Ketchum, Idaho.-Early life and career:Raised in Canada, Ryan graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1960, and took a job the newly-formed CFTO as an assistant sports director...
- Bob StantonBob HaymesRobert Haymes , also known under the stage names Robert Stanton and Bob Stanton, was an American singer, songwriter, actor and radio and television host. He is best remembered today for co-writing the song "That's All", considered part of the Great American Songbook...
See also
- The ContenderThe Contender (TV series)The Contender is a reality television series that follows a group of boxers as they compete with one another in an elimination-style competition, while their lives and relationships with each other and their families are depicted. Produced by Mark Burnett, the show is hosted by Sugar Ray Leonard,...
- Stroh Brewing Company - For many years Stroh had received little television exposure because of an agreement between the major networks and Anheuser-BuschAnheuser-BuschAnheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. , is an American brewing company. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and 18 in other countries. It was, until December 2009, also one of America's largest theme park operators; operating ten theme parks across the United States through the...
and Miller Brewing CompanyMiller Brewing CompanyThe Miller Brewing Company is an American beer brewing company owned by the United Kingdom-based SABMiller. Its regional headquarters are located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the company has brewing facilities in Albany, Georgia; Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; Eden, North Carolina; Fort Worth, Texas;...
which allowed the two top brewers exclusive advertising rights. Stroh fought the agreement and in 1983 was allotted advertising time on ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Monday Night BaseballMonday Night BaseballMonday Night Baseball is a live game telecast of Major League Baseball that airs most Monday nights during the regular season on ESPN and is also available in high definition on ESPNHD. The official name of the game is Monday Night Baseball presented by Vonage. The game starts at 7 p.m...
, on two NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
boxing events, and on other popular U.S. television sports shows.