Showtime's Cotto-Trout Boxing Card Punches Up Record Viewership

Super Welterweight Championship bout draws more than 1 million buys

By R. Thomas Umstead -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/4/2012 7:03:09 PM

A record number of Showtime boxing fans tuned into the premium service's Miguel Cotto-Austin Trout boxing telecast Saturday night, the network announced.

The Dec. 1 three-bout boxing card averaged 1.04 million viewers - the highest audience total since 2004 when Nielsen began to measure premium multiplex channels, according to Showtime officials.

The Cotto-Trout main event, in which WBA super welterweight champion Trout scored what many observers believe was an upset unanimous decision win over veteran and former champion Cotto, peaked at nearly 1.4 million viewers. That marked the highest peak on record since 2009 when data on viewership for individual bouts first became available, according to Showtime.