Rachel Charles over the (Blue) Moon about new ESPN deal

It was recently announced that boxing fans in the United States will soon have access to some great fights via the new Bluemoon Entertainment channel on the Over-the-Top (OTT) streaming platform. The content will focus on up-and-coming talent in Latin America.

Blue Moon has an agreement with BxStrs to broadcast all the fights, to the USA audience, that BxStrs will provide to ESPN Knockout in Latina America. ESPN Knockout is a massively popular show in Latin America that reaches millions of homes.

This exciting new venture provides U.S. fight fans with a chance to see burgeoning Latin American talent in the fighters’ formative stage of their career. Otherwise, they might not get a chance to see the developing contenders until they reached the North American boxing market.

The deal will get going soon - and get busy, quickly! It kicks off in November and is looking to carry a total of 48 fight cards over 24 months starting with the debut show November 12 card in Puerto Vallarta.

In a recent press release, Rachel Charles, Director of Operations for Bluemoon Entertainment, said, “This is a great opportunity for both Bluemoon and ESPN KnockOut. Now both will have exposure to U.S. audiences, who will be able to see fighters they might not otherwise have a chance to watch in action.”

MaxBoxing caught up with Charles, a native of Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham, England, from her home in Los Angeles, to get the scoop on what sounds like an outstanding venture that will benefit fight fans.

"We are really excited, and I think this is just going to bring more and more great content to boxing fans," said Charles, a long-time publicist for Los Angeles’ Sheer Sports Management.

While the new venture may have come about by chance, it is no surprise that it is looking to be a huge boost to televised boxing content, with Charles, and her infectious energy, involved.

"We were doing a podcast out the of the Bluemoon Gym, where Buddy McGirt is the lead trainer”, explained Charles. “That was exciting and looked like it was going to be a great addition to the Bluemoon brand and then we started having discussions about other opportunities," she went on. "I was approached about who I knew and what might be an opportunity to do other things and if I had some connections. I have some people I know down in Tijuana, Mexico and approached Felipe Leon who lined us up with Bxstrs and the ESPN Knockouts show, the OTT platform, which delivers to a huge a Spanish speaking audience, and it started to roll from there."

While the devil is in the details, Charles herself thrives on getting the job done and details are another day at the office for her.

"There was a lot of work to be done. How were we going to fit into this? Developing the OTT platform for us and how Bluemoon could deliver. Putting a broadcast team together, getting production set up. It was a lot of work but also it was very exciting," she said.

So, how does this all play out for boxing fans?

"Well, we are going to be delivering the live feed of some great fight cards on the ESPN Knockout network that focuses on some great up and coming contenders in the Latin American market. We have a fantastic broadcast team with Doug Fischer, Paulie Malignaggi and Jamie Motta on board and they will be great. We are going to be streaming some great fights, with some outstanding talent, right into people’s homes," said Charles.

The market will be traditionally Latin American fighters, the stronghold of the hugely popular show that reaches millions of viewers. However, there will be opportunities for North American fighters as well.

"There will be some opportunities for some of our fighters as well as slots open up”, she said. “It’s a great opportunity for a fighter who might have very little chance of getting a TV spot over here, let alone be seen by millions of people world-wide. The production is going to be amazing; the shows are going to be deep in talent with great fights lined up and the viewer wins”, she said. “That is our primary goal to bring the strongest content possible on fight night. This is going to be a great night at the fights for boxing fans to see up and coming champions. It’s another place for fighters to show their skills and talent and another platform for fight fans to tune in and see exceptional content on every show. This is exciting. Each show is going to be a great night of boxing."