Sky is "expected to be declared the winners of the bidding war for the right to the mega-fight" between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, according to Jeff Powell of the London DAILY MAIL. Sky has been in "fierce competition" with boxing promoter Frank Warren’s BoxNation channel but is believed to be "on the brink of clinching the British broadcasting rights for the richest fight in ring history." Warren is understood to have "offered the higher upfront fee of guaranteed payment." However, Sky is thought to have prevailed by "offering the promoters" a share of its pay-per-view revenue in addition. That represents a "break from tradition" for Sky, which normally keeps the U.K. revenue. It "remains to be seen" if it needs to mark another first by raising the pay-per-view cost to its subscribers through its "psychological £20 ($30) barrier." Sky will "certainly need to break the pay-per-view record" of 1.2 million viewers. Those numbers suggest that Sky "will have guaranteed in excess" of £10M ($15M) (DAILY MAIL, 3/20).
