LOS ANGELES, January 25 – RingTV, the media and digital division of the “Bible of Boxing” Ring Magazine has established an international television sales department with the goal of selling boxing content throughout the world, it was announced today by Richard Schaefer, CEO of Sports and Entertainment Publications (SEP), Ring’s parent company.
The new department will be led by newly hired Araceli Villegas, VP International Television, who spent seven years working in foreign sales at NASCAR, most recently as Director of International Broadcasting.
Included in the rights to be sold by RingTV are the television broadcast, video-on-demand, broadband and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) rights for live and archived Golden Boy Promotions events including the hit series “Fight Night Club,” which will be beginning its third season in February of 2011. The international television department will be developed to eventually sell boxing rights for events by all boxing promotional companies worldwide.
Said Richard Schaefer, “Showcasing athletes to a global audience and for them to gain international exposure is extremely important for health and growth of any sport. I felt that there was a clear void in the selling of boxing broadcast rights in foreign territories. With the experience and expertise of Araceli Villegas, RingTV intends to close that void and offer an attractive international sales alternative to all boxing promoters.”
“Golden Boy Promotions will be Araceli’s first client,” Schaefer continued. “I have no doubt that she will be able to deliver additional revenues and exposure for its fighters. Ring TV and SEP now have the opportunity to deliver the best fights and fighters in the world to fans around the globe like never before, and we’re very excited to be working with this new team.”
“I am excited about the opportunity to develop the international television business for Golden Boy Promotions, as well as other promoters,” said Villegas. “The passion worldwide for boxing is undeniable. The popularity of talented, international boxers is at an all-time high. That combination will make for premier events on distribution platforms all over the world.”
About Sports and Entertainment Publications:
Sports and Entertainment Publications, based out of Bluebell, Pennsylvania, is the publisher of the Ring Magzaine and RingTV.com. The company was established in 2008 to acquire the Ring Magazine and related assets.
About Golden Boy Promotions:
Los Angeles-based Golden Boy Promotions was established in 2002 by Oscar de la Hoya, the first Hispanic to own a national boxing promotional company. In 2007, in its fifth year of promoting, Golden Boy Promotions set a record by selling over 2.5 million in pay-per-view homes in a single night. Also in 2007, Golden Boy Promotions established the record for highest grossing pay-per-view homes in a single year with more than 4 million total. In 2009, the company broke records again by breaking the million mark in pay-per-view homes again with the return of Floyd Mayweather against Juan Manuel Marquez. Golden Boy Promotions is one of boxing’s most active and respected promoters, presenting shows in packed venues around the United States and the world on networks such as HBO, HBO Latino, TeleFutura, SHOWTIME, ESPN2 and Fox Sports Net.
Golden Boy Promotions currently has over 70 fighters under contract, from future Hall of Famers Bernard Hopkins and Juan Manuel Marquez to current world champions and superstars Amir Khan, David Haye and Chris John. Also included on the company’s roster are top contenders Saul Alvarez, Marcos Maidana, Robert Guerrero, Victor Ortiz, Daniel Ponce De Leon, Librado Andrade, Juan Diaz, Rocky Juarez and Abner Mares as well as highly regarded prospects Adrien Broner, Danny Garcia, Frankie Gomez, Erislandy Lara, Seth Mitchell, Carlos Velasquez and Deontay Wilder.