After years of teaming up with HBO or Showtime to produce and distribute high-profile PPV boxing telecasts, fight promoter Top Rank will go it alone this Saturday when Manny Pacquiao returns from his brief retirement to face WBO welterweight titleholder Jessie Vargas at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center. Top Rank has overseen the international-feed and in-arena productions for all its previous PPV fights, but Pacquiao-Vargas marks the rare occasion in which Top Rank Pay-Per-View will be entirely in charge of the domestic telecast production and distribution.
Manny Pacquiao (left) and Jessie Vargas will fight Saturday night on PPV telecast produced by Top Rank.
Top Rank is in control of the event from top to bottom, says Top Rank Executive Producer Brad Jacobs. We always run our arena production and our own international version of the broadcast as it is anyway, but now we're adding the pay-per-view broadcast element, which is nothing new to any of the [production crew] in for the event. Everyone here is very experienced with these types of events.
Domestic and International: One Production for Both
Typically for the international feed, Top Rank takes the domestic PPV feed (from HBO or Showtime) and augments it with a handful of unilateral cameras, branded graphics, and separate announcers. However, on Saturday, Top Rank will produce a single feed for both domestic and international broadcasts. To do so, the company has rolled out a crew of roughly 60, the F&F Productions' GTX-8 mobile unit, and 10 cameras at the arena.
All on-air elements will be 100% Top Rank-branded, including a new graphics package launched this year and a handful of augmented-graphics elements to match the high-profile PPV scale.
At the front bench will be two long-time Top Rank boxing veterans: producer John Fratzis and director Marty Corwin.
We're very happy with the crew we've got on hand to pull this off, led by John and Marty, who are very aware of our events, says Jacobs. I think, too, the end user will be very pleased. There should be nothing that they feel is missing from the broadcast. We feel we're going to deliver as good or better a product than anyone else does in this genre.
Big-Name Talent for Big-Name Fight
When it was announced in September that Top Rank would be handling the Pacquiao-Vargas PPV in-house, owner Bob Arum stated that he hopes to change the status quo of PPV productions with the move. In an effort to legitimize the fight as a top-tier product, Top Rank went out and got top-tier talent.
MLB Network's Brian Kenny (who called Friday Night Fights on ESPN for years), ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, and Top Rank fighter Timothy Bradley (who has fought both Pacquiao and Vargas) will serve as ringside announcers.
We've got a big event with Manny Pacquiao, one of the top boxing stars of all time, so you've got to build an event around him and bring in talent that's equal to his stature, Jacobs explains. Steven A. Smith is a well-known commodity in the sports world; our old friend Brian Kenny is well-established, not only in baseball but boxing as well; and Tim Bradley is a former world champion who has fought both guys. I think that we've got a sensational team.
In addition, Fox Sports personality and Extra co-host Charissa Thompson will host the event, and Top Rank TV reporter Chrystina Poncher will handle interviews. Jacobs notes that Thompson will have a unique host position that's a little different from what you might be used to for the PPV telecast.
It will definitely be a nice position viewpoint for Charissa to work from, he says. You're going to see some celebrities, fighters, and other members of the broadcast team up there. It will be a little fluid, based on what's happening during the night.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
19/08/2026
As the cost of IP nears price parity with traditional SDI, Reynolds argues that ...
19/08/2026
A private 5G bubble was chosen instead of traditional broadcast RF for the race ...
19/08/2026
(L-R) Rafael Manuel and Isabel Sicat attend the Filipi ana premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2026, in Park Cit...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-in/12...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
World Cup Games Generate 84 Billion Minutes Across FOX, Fox Sports 1 and NBCU...
19/08/2026
July brought typical peak-holiday drops in viewership, driven primarily by viewers stepping away from screens and a visible decline in reach across both traditi...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Henry joins BCE as the company accelerates its commercial strategy and expands its international presence across the media, broadcast and technology markets. He...
19/08/2026
iWedia, a leading provider of software solutions for connected TV devices, today announced a major milestone in Android platform optimization with the successfu...
19/08/2026
NTP Technology announces that ST 2110-30 audio-over-IP connectivity with AES67 and RAVENNA capabilities is now available for the brand's world-class audio i...
19/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected to provide its Nimbra platform by the service provider Big Blue Marble, formerly ORS Group, as the core media transport solution f...
19/08/2026
LiveU has supported Coventry City FC and several other top-flight UK football clubs through one of their most demanding live production challenges of the year, ...
19/08/2026
Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton August 18, 2026
0 Comments
Filming endangered turtles required camera...
19/08/2026
Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control ...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Australia, implemented a comprehensive communications infrastructure that brin...
19/08/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will spotlight a major leap forward in remote guest con...
19/08/2026
Integrated platform melds media asset management, playout automation and newsroom workflows
EMAM, PlayBox Neo and SNEWS have officially launched Nuvex, a conne...
19/08/2026
Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen in...
19/08/2026
Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdr...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
SportStream 2026, a free three-day virtual event, will take place September 15-17. One registration provides access to all three days of live programming and on...
18/08/2026
BeckTV will introduce BeckFlow to the European market at IBC2026, demonstrated on the Providius stand (10.F53).
BeckFlow is a web-based schematic documentation...
18/08/2026
Boland Communications will introduce a SMPTE ST 2110 input option for its 4K monitors at IBC2026, along with a new 55-inch super-narrow bezel display for video ...
18/08/2026
Dolby Laboratories and the Seattle Seahawks have announced a partnership integrating Dolby OptiView into the Seahawks' live streaming coverage, making the S...
18/08/2026
For BMG Executive Producer of Sports Production, Graham Taylor, producing live s...
18/08/2026
TMRW Sports has appointed Rufus Hack as President of Golf, a newly created role in which he will lead the company's golf businesses including TGL presented ...
18/08/2026
SMT will provide race technology for FOX Sports' coverage of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. on August 23, when the NTT INDYCAR SERIES races ...
18/08/2026
The live, YouTube-native roundtables combine fan voices, credentialed reporters,...
18/08/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/08/2026
The industry legend sounds off on replacing the Heat's iconic Medusa score...
18/08/2026
William F. Rasmussen, the sports fan-turned broadcaster and entrepreneur whose out-of-the-box idea of a 24-hour cable sports network, ESPN, changed forever the ...
18/08/2026
DAZN Group has completed its acquisition of ViewLift, a provider of streaming and digital solutions for sports content owners. The acquisition was first announc...
18/08/2026
The American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) has added SI TV, Sports Illustrated's 24/7 streaming channel, as a broadcast partner for the remain...
18/08/2026
The Esports Foundation has announced that the inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC), originally scheduled for November 2026 in Riyadh, will be postponed to Novemb...
18/08/2026
Diversified has announced a new Global Managed Services Practice, consolidating the company's managed services capabilities into one organization. Rob Mello...
18/08/2026
Appear has completed a proof of concept with Thoroughbred Racing Productions (TRP), demonstrating multi-camera remote live production over bonded 5G cellular an...
After years of teaming up with HBO or Showtime to produce and distribute high-profile PPV boxing telecasts, fight promoter Top Rank will go it alone this Saturday when Manny Pacquiao returns from his brief retirement to face WBO welterweight titleholder Jessie Vargas at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center. Top Rank has overseen the international-feed and in-arena productions for all its previous PPV fights, but Pacquiao-Vargas marks the rare occasion in which Top Rank Pay-Per-View will be entirely in charge of the domestic telecast production and distribution.
