What the fallout from Showtime's exit from combat sports could look like | Ep. 29

After nearly 38 years in business, Showtime will be calling it a day on their sports branch which mainly consists of boxing and Bellator. The rumor to this effect began a little over a month ago. Showtime boxing head Stephen Espinoza didn’t exactly make a firm denial of the rumors, nor did he outright confirm them.The Hey Not The Face! Podcast is a listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Espinoza will be among 38 regular employees that will ne jobless at the end of the year. Dan Rafael reports that freelancers/contractors will not be affected by the staff cuts. There’s a lot to unpack in this episode, even though it’s one of our short shots—which means it’s 100% FREE. Here’s a list of the topics:Topics* What Showsports going out of business mean for boxing* What it means for Bellator* Who's going to pick up the slack for boxing?* Is Bellator getting bought or just going out of business?* Are there similarities in the way Strikeforce and Elite XC were basically given the Old Yeller treatment with what’s potentially happening to Showtime?* Can any of this turn up in the antitrust case somehow?* How bad will the market be for fighters?The Hey Not the Face! Podcast is an independent publication. Please subscribe to keep up with our best work and learn how you can support us.Thank you for listening to the Hey Not The Face! Podcast. We’d be eternally grateful if you could help us spread word of this episode by sharing it far and wide. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heynottheface.substack.com/subscribe