Showtime said that it will "provide refunds to affected customers if it is able to determine they were unable to watch" the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Conor McGregor PPV on Saturday, according to Todd Spangler of VARIETY. Showtime Senior VP/Sports Communications Chris DeBlasio said, "We have received very limited number of complaints overall. We are reviewing all of them carefully and will respond to them accordingly." Showtime will "issue a $99.99 refund for customers who purchased the PPV access in HD through Showtime’s own direct-to-consumer services." If customers bought the PPV event through another distributor, such as UFC’s Fight Pass or through a cable or satellite TV operator, those consumers "must request a refund directly from that provider." Showtime’s official live stream of the fight "suffered technical issues Saturday." Showtime said that it "delayed the start of the event by about 10 minutes." Meanwhile, UFC said it is reviewing each refund request "on a case-by-case basis" and is in "direct contact with the consumers regarding a resolution" (VARIETY.com, 8/28). In N.Y., Marsh & Dugan note Showtime has been "hit by at least two class-action lawsuits from angry viewers." In a pair of suits that seek $5M each, customers "gripe that their $99.95 subscription to live-stream the highly anticipated fight was disrupted" (N.Y. POST, 8/29). USA TODAY's A.J. Perez cites a legal expert as saying that not refunding the cost of the fight "would lead to lawsuits." Customers have reported on Twitter that they have "successfully gotten the charge taken off their credit cards by requesting a chargeback from their banks" (USA TODAY, 8/29).
IT'S A NEW AGE: USA TODAY's Jefferson Graham writes PPV was "dealt a heavy blow" during Saturday's fight from "live-stream apps that are likely to only get more nimble before the next round." Digital platform security company Irdeto said that nearly 3 million people watched the fight "for free on live streaming services." The free broadcasts "were simple: someone holding a smartphone in front of their TV screen and sharing paid event live" on Facebook, Periscope, Instagram, YouTube and others. As these apps "advertise the ease of going live by tapping a button," PPV promoters such as Showtime face "increased threats to a business model that revolves around convincing customers they need to pony up for a must-see event." Twitter's copyright policy states that the company will "suspend or terminate accounts that violate it." A company spokesperson "declined to comment on whether Twitter in fact suspended or terminated any accounts that shared the fight illegally." The onus is on CBS' Showtime unit or any other PPV promoter to "complain to platforms like Facebook and YouTube if too many users are uploading copyrighted streams" (USA TODAY, 8/29).
