NBC’s partnership with Premier Boxing Champions has already been paying dividends, but the network will take it to the next level tomorrow night at 8:30pm EST, with its primetime broadcast from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Before the bout is the weigh-in, and today NBC Sports Digital will live-stream it via Meerkat. At 1pm EDT, fans can turn to the @NBCSports Twitter handle for the stream
“Live streaming via new social media products is a great way to further connect with our Twitter audience in real time,” Troy Ewanchyna, Vice President, Digital, NBCSports.com, tells LostRemote. “The new era of boxing has embraced technology as well, so streaming this weigh-in is a natural jumping-in point for us.”
Tomorrow night’s card (and today’s Meerkat weigh-in) includes Danny “Swift” Garcia (29-0, 17 KOs), Lamont Peterson (33-2-1, 17 KOs), middleweight titleholder “Irish” Andy Lee (34-2, 24 KOs), and undefeated Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (31-0, 22 KOs).
We asked Ewanchyna why NBC Sports Digital went with Meerkat rather than the more recently launched, Twitter-owned Periscope: “This was less about Meerkat versus Periscope and more about testing new products,” he said. “We have been and remain open to trying multiple products to determine the best way to serve our viewers. Most importantly we’re excited to showcase some insightful content to boxing fans who may not otherwise have access.”
The potential for Meerkat and Periscope and sports broadcasting is tremendous. The ‘PBC on NBC’ weigh-in isn’t game-changing, but it shows that broadcasters and their digital arms are already thinking about live streaming.