Showtime’s Adrien Broner-Marcos Maidana live boxing telecast Saturday night drew 1.3 million viewers, the network announced Tuesday.
The fight, in which Maidana (pictured right) upset the previously undefeated Broner in a unanimous decision win, is the third most watched fight for the network since 2009 when Showtime began tracking individual bouts, according to Showtime officials.
The average audience for the entire four-fight, Dec. 14 telecast also ranks as the fourth-largest live boxing telecast on Showtime since 2004, behind the Dec. 1 2012 Miguel Cotto/Austin Trout fight; the June 22 Paul Malignaggi/Broner bout; and Oct. 26 Bernard Hopkins/Karo Murat match, according to the network.
Overall, the Showtime Championship Boxing series’ 2013 viewership average is up 24% over last year’s viewership average and 64% over 2011's audience average, said network officials.
“Showtime Sports has achieved incredible growth in viewership of Showtime Championship Boxing in 2013, and we’ll take this momentum into 2014,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Showtime Sports in a statement. “With marquee events featuring boxing’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter and global star Floyd Mayweather, the return of Canelo Alvarez, and a myriad of incredible matchups on the horizon in the welterweight, junior welterweight and super welterweight divisions—the very deepest, most talent-rich divisions in boxing--our subscribers can continue to expect Showtime Sports to deliver the biggest and most significant bouts in boxing.”
