HBO - HBO FIGHT TELECAST PRODUCES RECORD PAY-PER-VIEW REVENUE

HBO FIGHT TELECAST PRODUCES RECORD PAY-PER-VIEW REVENUE

Saturday's HBO telecast of the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Oscar De La Hoya battle drew 2.15 million pay-per-view customers, generating $120 million in revenue -- smashing the previous record of $106.9 million for the Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson bout in 2002. Word of the success came on the same day that Chris Albrecht, the chairman/CEO of HBO, was fired by parent company Time Warner following his arrest Sunday for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend in Las Vegas after the fight. In a statement, Albrecht said that he had agreed to step down "with great regret, at the request of Time Warner ... recognizing that I cannot allow my personal circumstances to distract them from the business." Albrecht is often credited with being the man who led HBO into original programming, eventually bringing it such shows as The Sopranos and Sex and the City.

10/05/2007