The Sports Entrepreneurs Podcast by Marcus Luer Ken Hershman, "Big Time Boxing"
Ken Hershman, former Showtime Sports and then HBO Sports President involved in some of the biggest Boxing events over the past 25 years. Great stories from his 25 years at those networks and beyond from Mike Tyson to Don King and Mayweather vs Pacquiao. And his latest project and role as CEO of the Clash Basketball Pro League.
Key Highlights
- Lawyer by training, started in investment banking side – Viacom client, moved to Showtime as in-house lawyer
- Showtime, premium cable channel in movie space, moving into Boxing (following HBO’s footsteps)
- Broadened offering into Inside NFL, NASCAR show, Strike Force, the Franchise (MLB),
- Structure of PPV deals in the early days, what really ends up with the Promoter and Fighter
- First Mayweather vs Pacquiao, record revenues for a fight at the time, big numbers
- Challenges with scheduling and frequency of fights vs big one-off events
- Moving from Showtime after 18 years to HBO Sports
- HBO Sports role and focus (eventually moving out of sports, both Showtime and HBO)
- Riyadh Season and Influencer Boxing discussion (entertainment vs sports), talent building crucial
- Stories from Mike Tyson & Don King era – Tyson/Lewis – HBO/Showtime – another bite
- His favorite fights and Don King stories
- Beyond the Pay TV business in his career, Champion Gaming lessons and now Managing Director of CTH Advisors
- New project – launched Clash Basketball Pro League – www.clashbasketball.com , role as CEO
About
Widely known in the television sports world for his 30+ year career, Ken is an award-winning and innovative sports television programming executive. Ken is currently Vice Chairman of Champion Gaming, a sports wagering data, analytics and content company whose holdings include leading sports wagering brands EdjSports and Football Outsiders.
Ken's background includes significant tenure at leading media companies in a variety of senior management roles, including serving as President, HBO Sports, where he supervised award winning shows such as Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, Hard Knocks, 24/7 and the acclaimed boxing franchises World Championship Boxing, Boxing After Dark and HBO PPV. Ken also brings with him a sophisticated legal background with corporate, finance and securities experience both as an associate at Shearman & Sterling, as well as in-house counsel at Showtime Networks Inc., and sits on advisory boards for a number of companies in the sports, technology and entertainment industries.
Ken is a graduate of Fordham University School of Law, where he was a member of the International Law Journal. He received his Bachelor of Science degree, with distinction, from The George Washington University, where he was selected Phi Beta Kappa.
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