Last
week, I had my first chance to talk to Ken Hershman since he took over the post
at HBO Sports after his lengthy tenure at Showtime. There he served as the
network’s boxing “czar” since 2005, coming up with such innovations as the “Super
Six” modified round-robin, super middleweight tournament and helped to make the
historic rivalry between Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez come to fruition. A
couple of months ago, Hershman was tabbed to replace Ross Greenburg, who
resigned under pressure last summer after HBO’s boxing franchise declined
steadily under his decade-long leadership. Hershman officially stepped into his
new gig on January 9th.
The
former Executive Vice President and General Manager of Sports and Event
Programming for Showtime is now the President of HBO Sports. I can't lie; it's
going to take some time getting used to his new title. He admits as much.
“It's
an adjustment but it's one I'm proud to make and I keep looking at my HBO I.D.
that I wear proudly. I'm thrilled to be here and I'm humbled by the
opportunity,” he told Maxboxing last week from his offices at HBO, where he
spoke proudly of even receiving his official HBO stapler.
In a
way, this is like Theo Epstein becoming the general manager of the New York
Yankees aka the “Evil Empire.” Hershman chuckles at the analogy, saying, “I
have to say everyone here has been so welcoming and excited to have me that I
don't feel like this is anything but just a new opportunity and a new challenge
with an amazing group of people. It was a little odd; I'd say the first couple
of days but after that, it's an office; it's people. It's boxing and it's
sports television and we're off to the races here and everything is pretty much
as I expected.”
During
his days at Showtime, Hershman spoke of being more or less a counterpuncher,
reacting to what his rivals did (which was invariably wrecking their yearly
budget by May or June) and then systematically putting together his own
schedule. But programming HBO is not the same as programming Showtime, given
the network’s stature within the business. Let's face it; in Major League
Baseball, the G.M. of smaller market teams will construct a team much
differently than Brian Cashman of the Yankees, whose resources are much vaster.
Hershman
agrees, stating, “I do think it's going to be different. I think the way we
structure what we do here and how we go about it, I think is going to be different
for sure. I don't know exactly how. I can't sit here today and tell you after
working here just 14 days but I definitely do sense that as the market leader,
the category leader in boxing, it is going to be different and we're going to
have to react differently.”
Naturally,
with that comes added scrutiny and pressure. At HBO, there's an expectation of
creating the sport’s defining moments. When the general public thinks of
big-time boxing in the United States, the three letters they usually come up
with are H-B-O. But Hershman seems to relish the past standards that he's in
charge of restoring.
“Well,
I always felt there was tremendous scrutiny of everything that we’re doing and
I fully expect there to be as much scrutiny here,” he stated. “I'm prepared for
it and I welcome it and I think that- as I've always said to you - what you
guys do is an important part of the sport. It's important to keep everyone
honest and working for the betterment of boxing. We never set out to put on bad
fights. We never set out to put on things that we think are going to stink out
the joint. Sometimes it happens but it's a tough sport. It's not easy to make
every fight you want to make. But knowing you guys are out there, I think it is
a helpful part of it and I expect you to be as vigilant in my role as you were
in my prior life.”
One
of the major reasons why the previous regime failed was a perceived inequality
in terms of fair treatment. Exclusive output deals alienated longtime content
providers and other unexplained alliances, leaving the network beholden to the
likes of Al Haymon thus causing its product to suffer in the 21st century. When asked if he will establish a more level playing field under his
reign, Hershman answered, “I don't think it'll ever be perceived by people who
aren't getting as much business as they want as a level playing field. But my
approach to the business and the people in the business is to be open and
honest and I view things as a shop that's going to be open to everybody's
suggestions and ideals and we're going to program the best way we see fit and
try to be as upfront and honest as to why we're doing what we're doing and be
transparent. And we hope that it's successful.
“But
I don't envision it being any different than when I was across the street, that
everyone will have a voice here and we'll look at all the options and then
we'll pick what we think is best for the network.”
There
is a belief throughout the industry that Hershman was tabbed for this position due
to his ability to do more with less. With HBO supposedly cutting its boxing
budget (still believed to be around $30 million), they needed someone to bring
sanity to this process- a form of market correction where they would no longer
just merely bid against themselves.
Regarding
this, he says, “From my standpoint, I believe that with my skill set, it was
the right fit at the right time. Whether that's attributable to managing
budgets or picking the right fights or how I interact with people or whatever
it is that attracted them to me, I'm happy to be here and hopefully, I'll have
a nice successful run at this.”
But
Hershman is here for a reason- and it's because there was a systemic breakdown
overseen by those who preceded him- meaning he inherits some toxic assets in
the form of deals he has to live up to, agreed upon while he was at
Showtime. “That's the nature of any new position. The company didn't stop
because I wasn't here. I will happily deal with that is before me but I have to
say I'm looking at the beginning of the year. I'm pretty stoked about the
line-up and I think the guys did a great job and I'm looking forward to every
one of these shows,” he said.
HBO's
first show took place this past weekend from San Antonio, Texas, featuring
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Nonito Donaire. On February 25th, they
have a doubleheader that sees Devon Alexander facing Marcos Maidana and Adrien
Broner taking on Eloy Perez. On March 17th, Sergio Martinez defends
his middleweight championship against Matthew Macklin (with Donovan George opening
things up versus Edwin Rodriguez at the Theater at Madison Square Garden). A
week later, Erik Morales and Danny Garcia do battle in Houston with James
Kirkland and Carlos Molina kicking off the broadcast. And things are inching
closer to having Brandon Rios face Yuriorkis Gamboa on April 14th at
the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Much
of this schedule was put together by the likes of Peter Nelson and Kery Davis
before Hershman took the helm. When asked if Bernard Hopkins- Chad Dawson II
was the initial event he pulled the trigger on, he responded, “I don't know if
I'd characterize that as the first major decision. I think that there were a
lot of plans on the board that were presented to me. A lot of things in were in
the works and a lot of things that frankly came up as soon as I got here just
by the nature of the timing of things and we've been handling it all in the
ordinary courses.” Last year, Hopkins was inked to a three-fight deal with HBO
and this upcoming bout on April 28th is the final fight on that
pact. “I don't know if there's been any major announcement or decision that
I've had to make. We're trying to map out the year and figure out what fights
we want to put on, what fighters we want to be involved with and what the
strategy is going forward and that's going to take some time to sort of work
itself through.”
So
will things like the “Super Six” concept have a place at HBO? It was certainly
a novel idea that pleased the hardcore followers of the sport but failed to
connect with the general, mainstream audience. HBO is about stars and big
events. The downside of that is that oftentimes, it's been about individual
fighters and not fights.
“I
think there's room for innovation, for sure. I'm not sure exactly what kind
that will be,” admitted Hershman, who also invested a good amount of coin on
the smaller weight classes while at Showtime, “but I think that the tournament
overlay on top of these regular fights adds a lot of excitement and interest
for sports fans and I like it. It's fun in the right setting and right weight
classes, so we'll be opportunistic if that comes along and if we can pull that
off, I would like to do it.”
So
begins Hershman’s new adventure but in looking back, he admits he will miss the
people he worked with for nearly two decades. “Obviously 19 years on a personal
level, absolutely it was difficult but it was the right time in my career to
make that move and bring a new challenge to my professional life. It doesn't affect
the affection and respect for anyone I worked with and I will maintain those
relationships forever.”
Once
the conductor of “The Little Engine that Could,” Hershman is now in charge at
HBO Sports and while you can expect the same quality documentaries (like the
recently produced “Namath”) and other highly regarded programming like “Real
Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” the overwhelming responsibility of this job relates
to boxing. It's the only live sporting event they televise. And you can win all
the Emmys you want while rubbing shoulders with A-list celebrities at the premieres
of your Yankee features. It's the fights that many of you subscribe for- and
nothing else. Greenburg never understood that and in the process, his disdain
for the business and the people in it manifested itself in the decisions that
were disastrous for this proud franchise.
Hershman
understands this importance of HBO to boxing- and boxing's importance to HBO.
“I
think HBO's got a singular place in the sport. It's certainly the leader in
televising boxing in this country, so it certainly has a significant place and
it's one that we need to respect and we need to cultivate and make sure that we
live up to whatever that brings with it and do the best job possible for the
health of boxing and the health of HBO.”
KISSINGER
I
asked Hershman if he could play the role of diplomat and broker peace in the “Cold
War” between Top Rank and Golden Boy and make some match-ups between their
clients.
“I
don't know if I could,” he admitted. “I think that is certainly an issue for
the sport that I wish wasn't there but hopefully, it's temporary and that we
can get a lot of great fights between these two promotional outfits. But it's
not anything that I think is unique to those two individual firms. There's been
issues between promoters and promotional outfits all throughout my tenure.
We've got to navigate through them and put people in a position where they feel
comfortable that they're getting a fair shake and hopefully, that leads to some
great fights.”
HERSHMAN
Here's
a column I wrote not-too-long-ago on the hiring of Hershman by HBO:
ALAMO
FLURRIES
I
heard the Chavez-Marco Antonio Rubio broadcast did a very strong number for HBO
this past weekend (around a 3.6). Say what you want about Junior; the guy
brings eyeballs to the TV and puts butts in seats...I noticed a few new
wrinkles to the HBO broadcast, such as more behind-the-scenes footage during
the fight (like Donaire inside Chavez's dressing room after his fight) and shots
of the broadcast crew...I have to say, Jim Lampley's new glasses caused quite
the stir...Larry Merchant's line on wanting to “roll out a roll of toilet paper”
after Donaire's squatting exhibition made me laugh. Merchant's gonna Merchant...Speaking
of the “Filipino Flash,” according to his wife, Rachel, after seeing a
specialist on Tuesday, there is no fracture of Donaire’s left hand...The March
30th edition of “Friday Night Fights” on ESPN2 will have Hank Lundy
facing Dannie Williams. I really like this match-up...Say what you will about
Ricky Williams but the guy had a productive NFL career...If Kobe Bryant wins a
sixth ring (which I admit doesn't seem likely) with the Lakers, is he the
franchise’s greatest player?...What a tough loss for the Clips’ Chauncey
Billups…Congrats to Cortez Kennedy on his
induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I'll always remember him for his
role on the ‘89 ‘Canes defensive front, which is among the all-time greatest, leading
Miami to a national title...
