Home Box Office said Thursday that it will cancel its youth-targeted KO
Nation boxing series after its scheduled Aug. 11 event.
The series -- which launched in 2000 and blends hip-hop music and themes with
live fights highlighting up-and-coming boxers -- failed to attract enough
'Gen-X' viewers to remain viable.
The show -- which initially aired on Saturday afternoons but moved to late
Saturday nights earlier this year -- averaged between a 3 and 4 rating for eight
shows.
The network will continue its other boxing franchises, Boxing After
Dark and HBO World Championship Boxing.
'We came to the realization that we could not reach young viewers with four
or five KO Nation shows per year,' HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg
said. 'By refortifying and expanding the Boxing After Dark franchise and
focusing on promoting our stable of franchise fighters, we can do a better job
of attracting a younger audience to the sport.'
R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.
