Deserter wrote: ↑30 Jul 2018, 03:30The problem with going down that road logically is that a promoter can start charging PPV for an area title fight, for example.
Like him or loathe him, Eddie Hearn has established a solid reputation for promoting entertaining fight cards that nearly always contain bouts that are exciting and action-packed.
And Mainstream casuals aren’t particularly knowledgeable aficionados of the sport of boxing. They pay to be entertained.
I also feel that Matchroom and Sky are incredibly effective at marketing, because they seem capable of generating demand where there is none. As a case in point, the Whyte-Parker bout, which was announced about seven weeks prior to the scheduled fight date, at a time when nobody was really calling for (or even expecting) these two guys to share the ring.
I do believe that there are some fundamental pre-requisites that need to be in place in order to convince Sky’s customer base to hand over their hard-earned cash in order to watch a Matchroom PPV event, which renders the likelihood of Eddie Hearn trying to charge for an area title fight as being virtually impossible.
Deserter wrote: ↑30 Jul 2018, 03:30I think it's important to remember the justification for PPV fights has always been around the fighters' purses and sanctioning fees. Ergo it should follow that PPV shouldn't exist except for those truly premium fights - last Saturday's card clearly doesn't fall into that category.
The justification for the use of PPV’s is to optimise the amount of revenue that can be generated.
If the fighters were willing to compete for “pennies”, the TV networks would still charge a PPV fee to cover an event if there was sufficient demand from their paying audience to see it.
Deserter wrote: ↑30 Jul 2018, 03:30People also tend to forget that in the case of Sky the subscription model is already in place, so PPV on top has always been dangerously close to taking the piss.
Agreed, but if Matchroom and Sky are capable of charging for a PPV, with their paying customers satisfied that they’ve got their monies worth and were willing to continue paying to watch these events in the future, then the situation isn’t going to change.