Skip to Content
reality TV reviews, news, and analysis since 2000

Contender may move to HBO for its third season and focus on heavyweight boxers

ESPN will soon air The Contender Challenge, a series of fights between veterans from the US show and UK boxers. But a third season of the reality series is also apparently in the works, and it may involve two major changes.

The Contender 3 will leave ESPN and focus on heavyweight, not middleweight, fighters, Boxing Confidential reports. The site says “Boxingconfidential.com has learned the progam, which is headed up by reality series guru Mark Burnett and boxing and entertainment man Jeff Wald, may be changing channels. ESPN, which picked up the show after it left NBC after its premiere season, has an option to carry the program. But sources within the broadcasting world keep repeating to me hot and scalding rumors that Home Box Office is going to acquire the show.”

If that report is true, that’d be its third network in three seasons; the first season aired on HBO. Regardless, the show will apparently “switch to an all heavyweight format for its 2007 season,” which Boxing Confidential says is “hardly a secret.”

“The Contender” Leaving ESPN, HBO Bound! [Boxing Confidential]

All reality blurred content is independently selected, including links to products or services. However, if you buy something after clicking an affiliate link, I may earn a commission, which helps support reality blurred. Learn more.

More from reality blurred

About the author

  • Andy Dehnart

    Andy Dehnart is the creator of reality blurred and a writer and teacher who obsessively and critically covers reality TV and unscripted entertainment, focusing on how it’s made and what it means.

Discussion: your turn

I think of writing about television as the start of a conversation, and I value your contributions to that conversation. We’ve created a community that connects people through open and thoughtful conversations about the TV we’re watching and the stories about it.

To share our perspectives and exchange ideas in a welcoming, supportive space, I’ve created these rules for commenting here. By commenting below, you confirm that you’ve read and agree to those rules.

Happy discussing!