The Showtime Sports brand will be history in a couple of months.
On Tuesday, the Sports Business Journal reported that Paramount was shutting the brand down at the end of the year.
In a statement, Paramount confirmed the decision, saying Showtime would “continue to air and support the remaining 2023 boxing slate.”
“As we evolve our strategy to more efficiently allocate resources and align our content offering across the business, we’ve made the difficult decision not to move forward with boxing and other content produced by the Showtime sports team. Showtime will continue to air and support the remaining 2023 boxing slate and honor obligations through the end of the year.”
A round of layoffs will also take place. Current Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinoza is someone who will be let go. He released a statement about Paramount’s decision to shutter the brand.
“The company’s decision is not a reflection of the work we have done in recent years, nor of our long and proud history. … Unfortunately, in a rapidly evolving media marketplace, the company has had to make difficult choices allocating resources, resetting priorities and reshaping its content offering. While today’s news is certainly difficult and disappointing, it is entirely out of our control.”
The decision takes Paramount out of the boxing world. Nearly 38 years ago, Showtime aired its first boxing event, headlined by Marvin Hagler vs John Mugabi on March 10, 1986.
Boxing isn’t the only sport affected by Paramount’s decision. The Showtime Basketball brand, which added Rachel Nichols last year and Ariel Helwani this year, is also being eliminated. Paramount also owns Bellator MMA (which Viacom purchased in December 2011), though it has been trying to sell the company for much of 2023. Bellator’s future remains uncertain.
While the Showtime Sports brand is being sunset, the network itself may still air sports content. However, any content (including documentaries) will be produced under the CBS Sports brand rather than the Showtime Sports brand.
Losing a brand like Showtime Sports stings from a nostalgia perspective. But logically, it makes sense on paper. There was no real need for Paramount to have two separate sports brands under its umbrella, especially when one was creating far less content. With content from both CBS Sports and Showtime Sports available on Paramount+, eliminating one brand simply makes sense, even though that’s a hard pill to swallow.
