NBC & Telemundo Boxing.

Professional boxing will return to network television this May as part of an innovative joint venture between NBC Sports, Telemundo and boxing promotional group Main Events. The agreement calls for live, boxing broadcasts on NBC and Telemundo, as well as a revenue-sharing business relationship that includes integrated advertising and sponsorships. The announcement was made by Ken Schanzer, President, NBC Sports; Jorge Hidalgo, Senior Vice President, Telemundo Sports and Kathy Duva, Chief Executive Officer, Main Events.

On three consecutive Saturday afternoons – May 3, 10 and 17 – NBC Sports and Telemundo will provide live coverage from the same Main Events-promoted boxing event. NBC-owned Telemundo, a U.S. Spanish-language television network reaching 91 percent of U.S. Hispanic viewers, will air a live fight in Spanish from 2-3 p.m. ET. NBC Sports, which has not televised professional boxing since 1992, will broadcast its live boxing card from 3:30-5 p.m. ET.

The business relationship calls for NBC Sports, Telemundo and Main Events to enter into a venture that includes integrated sales and sponsorship opportunities; extensive cross promotions; combined television production; shared broadcast/fight promotion costs and revenue sharing.

“Positioning Telemundo and boxing together seems like a perfect fit,” said Schanzer. “The NBC-Telemundo synergies – cross network promotion and production efficiency – and a creative, new boxing model from Main Events makes this an attractive venture for NBC Sports.”

Duva said: “For the past decade, getting boxing back on network television has been the sport’s version of the ‘Search for the Holy Grail.’ There is an entire generation of great boxers waiting to be discovered by sports fans, which is why our innovative alliance with NBC and Telemundo is a milestone for boxing.”

Hidalgo said: “Hispanics are the largest minority group and the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population as well as the country’s most passionate consumers for boxing. It’s great for Telemundo to work closely with NBC Sports, but the big winners here are Hispanic boxing fans who will closely watch the live boxing coverage on both Telemundo and NBC. For example, once our Telemundo fight card concludes, we plan to encourage our viewers to follow the remaining bouts on NBC.”

Telemundo has been televising professional boxing for the past ten years as part of its successful Boxeo Telemundo late Friday night series.

NBC Sports, Telemundo and Main Events are also targeting integrated advertising and sponsorship which will allow advertisers the opportunity to cross-advertise to both English and Spanish-speaking audiences with NBC and Telemundo.

NBC Sports and Main Events have formed a partnership with Jerry Calabrese, former president of Marvel Comics Group, to package and sell sponsorships and promotions for the venture. Calabrese’s company, GSC Marketing, played a similar role in NASCAR’s 50th Anniversary in 1998.

Telemundo will produce the televised boxing broadcasts in conjunction with NBC Sports. Further details related to fights and fighters, boxing venues and commentators will be announced at a later date.