BoxRec

When was the last one that meritted actually being PPV?

For me it has to tick more than one box, people vary on what is the top priortiy here but for me it really should deliver on all the following fronts:

1. Have a top class main event - High profile fight, MUST be at world class, should be competitive 60/40 type fight at very least
2. Have a good undercard - Some good names AND competitive fights. I'm not asking for 3 world title fights on the bill, just better than Gaving McDonnell
3. Of course the sales have to justify the event. This is more for Camp Eddie than fan satisfaction, but the facts are, if it doen't sell, it shouldn't have been PPV.
4. Actually deliver on the night - No good having an all British unification hyped to the max if the 2 fighters don't throw a punch

There are some PPV in recent years that have ticked one box, a few ticked two, I can't think of a single show that delivered on all fronts and some could argue that one or two shows have come up short in every department

Is PPV an utterly failed venture?

I'm sorry to be a cynic, but I think # 3 is the only driver.

i feel i got 15 quids worth out of it, some good fights on the bill. quigg froze, it's understandable. and im not locked into a sky contract so all's good.

I hate the PPV concept. For me it's too hit and miss. Take Quigg vs Frampton, looked a cracking fight on paper but it turned out to be shit. Likewise Fury vs Klitschko. They need to lower the price to a fiver because no way was that shite worth £15.

Oddly enough though, one of the fighters who I give a lot of stick towards is a fighter who is worth being on PPV and that's Wilder. Say what you like about the guy but his fights are usually fun. Largely because he's so limited so even fighting the likes of Duhaupas and Szpilka it's going to be competitive.

But still, as much as I enjoy his fights, no way would they be worth £15 a pop.

The strange thing is, quite often the neutral fans who make up the vast majority of the PPV sales are the ones who are left most dissapointed. They get sucked into the hype expecting Gatti v Ward for their money. Lots of people abusing Mayweather for 'running' after the Pacquiao fight clearly showing their lack of knowledge about how Mayweather fights or expecting him to suddenly change his style because they have forked out a few £, got their mates round and grabbed a slab of beers out of tesco.

I wasnt left dissapointed by the Mayweather Pacquiao PPV as it went roughly how i expected, last night however I watched over facetime due to work commitments and it never played out as I expected. That said if I was at home Id have still made the best of it and accepted that it was two closely matched fighters and the fight just never really got started. A lot of the neautrals would complain at paying £ if it was a 2nd round KO or if it goes the distance, at least the guys who follow boxing know that both fighters last night just never performed to their best.

Matchroom and Eddie Hearn pi$$ me off for many reasons, I dont have any issue with last night being a PPV regardless of how it played out but Joshua v Whyte, Brook v TBA's etc are just a shambles.

The main event flopped and the undercard was sh1t it constituted a failure.

Anyone who paid for it has every right to feel dissatisfied. On the plus I didn't pay for it and was good to see Hearns smug face turn a bit sour

I was going to pay but found a live stream, I've never managed to get any to work in the past but last night the first site I went to it connected straight away and was a perfect HD picture too, no lag either.

Controversial wrote:I was going to pay but found a live stream, I've never managed to get any to work in the past but last night the first site I went to it connected straight away and was a perfect HD picture too, no lag either.

I'm surprised, I've never had any trouble finding live streams. I've got 3 or 4 different sites I usually use and at least one of them has a good quality stream.

davie wrote:When was the last one that meritted actually being PPV?

For me it has to tick more than one box, people vary on what is the top priortiy here but for me it really should deliver on all the following fronts:

1. Have a top class main event - High profile fight, MUST be at world class, should be competitive 60/40 type fight at very least
2. Have a good undercard - Some good names AND competitive fights. I'm not asking for 3 world title fights on the bill, just better than Gaving McDonnell
3. Of course the sales have to justify the event. This is more for Camp Eddie than fan satisfaction, but the facts are, if it doen't sell, it shouldn't have been PPV.
4. Actually deliver on the night - No good having an all British unification hyped to the max if the 2 fighters don't throw a punch

There are some PPV in recent years that have ticked one box, a few ticked two, I can't think of a single show that delivered on all fronts and some could argue that one or two shows have come up short in every department

Is PPV an utterly failed venture?

From the fans point of view, an emphatic Yes! Frampton and Quigg will never earn so well again so I doubt they see it as a failed venture. I can't speak for Quiggs non effort in the fight however. That was certainly a failed venture.

Loynesy wrote:I'm sorry to be a cynic, but I think # 3 is the only driver.

This.

I think the above 4 things are what you expect when you pay £15 for a one off bill.
But to truely gauge afterwards, if it was worthy, the easy question to ask yourself is:
1. was I happy with the product before hand
and
2. Am I satisfied with what it delivered afterwards?

I don't think anyone on here can honestly say that of any PPV bill in the last 2 years

tigermoth87 wrote:

Controversial wrote:I was going to pay but found a live stream, I've never managed to get any to work in the past but last night the first site I went to it connected straight away and was a perfect HD picture too, no lag either.

I'm surprised, I've never had any trouble finding live streams. I've got 3 or 4 different sites I usually use and at least one of them has a good quality stream.

Yeah mates have given me streams too they have raved about but they never seem to connect for me, last night was a first.

The only PPV i enjoyed and though was worthy in recent years was Froch v Groves 2.

I never paid for it and I'm obviously pleased about that because it stank.

I probably would have paid for it to be honest as the build up did get hold of me in the days leading up to it, especially as I was in Manchester Thursday/Friday.

But you can't order SKY PPV if you aren't a Sky subscriber and I cut that off a year ago so it's their loss really. They should look at enabling the ordering/watching of PPV events through BT and other providers.

Controversial wrote:

tigermoth87 wrote:

Controversial wrote:I was going to pay but found a live stream, I've never managed to get any to work in the past but last night the first site I went to it connected straight away and was a perfect HD picture too, no lag either.

I'm surprised, I've never had any trouble finding live streams. I've got 3 or 4 different sites I usually use and at least one of them has a good quality stream.

Yeah mates have given me streams too they have raved about but they never seem to connect for me, last night was a first.

Do you use IE or one of the other browsers? I've found streams often lag or don't load proper for me when I use Firefox or Chrome but on bog standard internet explorer they work fine.

tigermoth87 wrote:

Controversial wrote:

tigermoth87 wrote:
I'm surprised, I've never had any trouble finding live streams. I've got 3 or 4 different sites I usually use and at least one of them has a good quality stream.

Yeah mates have given me streams too they have raved about but they never seem to connect for me, last night was a first.

Do you use IE or one of the other browsers? I've found streams often lag or don't load proper for me when I use Firefox or Chrome but on bog standard internet explorer they work fine.

Ah ok will try IE in future

davie wrote:When was the last one that meritted actually being PPV?

For me it has to tick more than one box, people vary on what is the top priortiy here but for me it really should deliver on all the following fronts:

1. Have a top class main event - High profile fight, MUST be at world class, should be competitive 60/40 type fight at very least
2. Have a good undercard - Some good names AND competitive fights. I'm not asking for 3 world title fights on the bill, just better than Gaving McDonnell
3. Of course the sales have to justify the event. This is more for Camp Eddie than fan satisfaction, but the facts are, if it doen't sell, it shouldn't have been PPV.
4. Actually deliver on the night - No good having an all British unification hyped to the max if the 2 fighters don't throw a punch

There are some PPV in recent years that have ticked one box, a few ticked two, I can't think of a single show that delivered on all fronts and some could argue that one or two shows have come up short in every department

Is PPV an utterly failed venture?

1&2 I totally agree with on principal but 3 really is the only one that matters in terms of future events being made PPV or not. 4 is impossible to tell, styles can clash or gel, guys can settle for a paycheque and ensure they live to fight another day or risk everything for the win. You never know until it's done.

PPVs will continue or end purely down to sales. Personally I was happy to watch Huck vs Afolabi for what I already pay rather than spend any extra on Quigg vs Frampton but I wouldn't argue with anyone who did otherwise, pure choice. I'll not buy Joshua vs Martin either as it's nowhere near a PPV fight in my opinion but I'll not bitch at those who buy it either.

If people really have a problem with PPV's don't buy them. Its is really that simple

I would also add to this, is PPV actually responsible for the shite we watched last night.
The PPV puts pressure on fighters, the build up that must accompany a PPV to sell it puts more pressure still.

Is the format not only failing to produce but in fact even counterproductive to it's own product

If Jack Dempsey was resurrected and Ali was rejuvenated and they put it on PPV, I STILL wouldn't pay for it !! I will NEVER do it.

Does anyone making money out of last nights promotion care a jot about the poor performance or lack of undercard -not a hope in hell. They will all be waiting for the final accounting and then move smoothly on to selling the Joshua fight ( against a totally unproven bum from America whose cashing-in big time ).
SKY SPORTS executives are still sitting up in their penthouses at night unable to sleep since they lost the contract to show the Champions League/Europa league.My only consolation in all this is that while the whole country starts discussing the Man U v Liverpool clash and millions tune in to BT Sport for the matches, their pain will continue.

For Sky & Matchroom, it's clearly not a failed venture, they must be making a killing off it.

But personally I'm done with PPV. Already stopped buying the ones which were blatant cash-ins (Cleverly-Bellew 2, Brook-Gavin, Joshua-Whyte etc), and am now no longer willing to pay extra for fights which on paper could be good scraps (Quigg-Frampton, Fury-Klitschko, Mayweather-Pacquiao etc). Can hardly think of a PPV which was actually worth the money, I'll be happily binning Sky Sports in August & replace it with Now TV for the occasional Saturday night if/when Matchroom actually put a decent card on.

Too many fans seem entirely comfortable with the notion that without PPV these fights won't get made. What other sport tells its fans this? Don't tell me its a business...boxing's a business when it suits and a sport when it suits.

17 quid to watch a ppv with adverts all the way through! Sky sports are a disgrace ill never subscribe to them they treat boxing fans like shit

Loynesy wrote:I'm sorry to be a cynic, but I think # 3 is the only driver.

Agreed. If its a commercial success then its not a failure. Whether or not people think the fights are "worth it" is immaterial. Evidently Hearn is able to convince enough people that they are and thats all that matters...

I've never understood why existing customers should have to pay for a PPV in addition to paying for their subscription...

ade the grenade wrote:I've never understood why existing customers should have to pay for a PPV in addition to paying for their subscription...

Because when asked to many of them do and it makes everyone involved a serious amount of cash. I'm not being sarcastic, I pretty much think that's all it takes to sum up why PPV's work and will continue.

There is nothing wrong with buying PPV events. Just appreciate that in doing so the likelihood of them continuing increases a little with every buy and, that like any sporting event, it isn't guaranteed to be any good just because we are being asked to fork out an extra £17 for it