PPV Sales For Boxing Bouts Hit Hard Due To Economic Downturn
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Hopkins-Pavlik Fight Drew 190,000 PPV Sales,
More Than 100,000 Below Prefight Estimates |
The struggling economy is "clearly having a greater impact on boxing than promoters had believed it would when the crisis began," according to Kevin Iole of YAHOO SPORTS. PPV sales for the October 18 Kelly Pavlik-Bernard Hopkins fight "were a bomb, coming in at around 190,000, more than 100,000 below many prefight estimates." Also, while no official figure has been released for PPV sales for the November 8 Joe Calzaghe-Roy Jones Jr. fight at MSG, industry sources "have confirmed it is around 200,000," which is "half of what was expected when the fight was signed." Though attendance at MSG for the Calzaghe-Jones fight "was good, it was only because the vast majority of tickets were heavily discounted or outright given away." And tickets for Saturday's Ricky Hatton-Paulie Malignaggi fight at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas are "aplenty." Iole writes the public "clearly isn't going to accept less-than-quality main events anymore." The PPV price "needs to be reduced." It is a "joke at $49.95, but the $54.95 that is being charged for the standard definition showing" of the December 6 Oscar De La Hoya-Manny Pacquiao bout is "particularly galling" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 11/18).
THE RISE OF MMA: In N.Y., Tim Smith reports promoters for last Saturday's UFC 91 in Las Vegas "hauled in a $5[M] gate," and also expect a million PPV buys "when the final tally is added up." With ticket sales for Saturday's Hatton-Malignaggi fight "sluggish," this is the "biggest example yet that boxing and mixed martial arts are different sports with different audiences. All comparisons should end now." It also points out how PPV has "sapped the life out of boxing, a sport that thrived when it was available on free network TV." The "bad news for Malignaggi-Hatton is that it is caught in a cycle of plummeting interest and a sour economy in Las Vegas," while MMA "seems to be growing despite the economy" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 11/19).
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