It is indeed a rare thing for the competing premium-cable channels to co-operate on a broadcast. But it seems they were forced to this time.

The fight in question was between British fighter Anthony Joshua and Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko. Joshua has a contract saying that his fights appear on Showtime in the U.S., while Klitschko has a similar deal with HBO, hence the problem.

Things were complicated, then resolved, by the fact that the fight occurred on the evening of April 29 in Joshua's hometown of London -- evening in London is, of course, afternoon in North America. So HBO and Showtime cut a deal that said Showtime could air the fight live in the afternoon, and HBO could replay it at night.

This might seem like HBO got the short end of the stick, but more people watch TV at night than in the afternoon. Indeed, HBO actually got higher ratings for its broadcast, even though the result -- a Joshua win by knockout in the 11th round -- was public knowledge by that point.

Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided.