Illegal streaming is the scourge of all sports rights holders – and it’s especially true for promoters and broadcasters putting on major boxing fights on pay-per-view (PPV).
It’s estimated that 20million fight fans streamed that epic Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk world heavywieght title unification fight illegally back in May. To put that into perspective, it would mean an incredible £95m in lost revenue for the organisers.
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Turki Alalshikh on prices
In recent days Turki Alalshikh – the man credited with ushering in a new era for the sport thanks to his Saudi Arabia General Entertainment Authority – declared his clear goal to make the price points for PPV shows cheaper – in his view lessening the desire for viewers to stream illegally.
Alalshikh wants pay-per-view shows to be less than £20 in the UK, and that is absolutely what will happen on September 21 for that huge Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois blockbuster at Wembley Stadium.
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DAZN PPV, Sky Sports Box Office and TNT Sports Box Office will all have streaming rights – and all will fit under that £20 price point.
Hearn expects crackdown
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn agrees with the key man from Saudi, and he also expects a major legal crackdown on fans streaming fights illegally.
He told ‘The Stomping Ground’ on YouTube (watch the full interview at the bottom of this article): “It’s an interesting time for pay-per-view to be honest. Obviously illegal streaming is a major problem, and I think there’ll be a big crackdown on that from an actual legal perspective for people doing it.
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“But His Excellency is 100pc bang on – the cheaper the price, the less temptation there is to illegally stream. One of the problems in America is, the pay-per-view is 90 bucks or 80 bucks. That is gonna encourage people to stream illegally. I think this is £16.99 on DAZN.”
Just to back up Hearn’s point on the US, the PPV for that Canelo Alvarez vs Edgar Berlanga next Saturday night (September 14) is currently just under $90 on Amazon Prime Video. He believes cheaper prices will be design lessen the number of fans using illegal streams.
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“I think it takes the thought out of illegal streaming. I mean firstly you’re breaking the law – that’s number one. Number two – you’re watching a s*** picture most of the time. There’s popups popping up left right and centre, and whatever else it does to your device. And at that price point, it makes you go ‘do you know what, just buy it’.”
Joshua vs Dubois PPV record?
A record boxing crowd of 96,000 will pack Wembley Stadium on September 21 when Joshua (28-3) bids to become a three-time world heavyweight champion. With a fantastic undercard, and Oasis front man Liam Gallagher booked to perform live, it should be quite the show. Hearn expects numbers to match the sheer size of the event.
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“I think it’s gonna be really interesting to see the numbers for this pay-per-view, I think it could do record numbers.”
