Issue for SKY - and effect on boxing coverage
Posted: 17 Jan 2017, 06:11
One of the papers mentioned this morning that SKY, last week, quietly announced that the viewing figures for live Premiership matches was down 13% from the previous year, and down a whopping 25% since 2010. The journalist suggested that this was NOT because less people were watching live football, it was simply the case that the quality of live' streaming' was such that many thousands were simply no longer willing to pay the SKY subscriptions.
With BT capturing the Champions League and the downturn in viewing figures SKY must obviously have concerns ( as should the Premiership owners), which partially explains the increase in PPV boxing shows, after all, the revenue gap has got to be plugged somehow. I would safely predict further increases in the numbers of PPV events over the next few years, which will effect my ability to watch live boxing because I simply refuse to pay ANYTHING extra via the PPV route no matter whose fighting. But maybe I'll just have to join the young brigade and go for live streaming ( whatever that is !!! ).
There's one vice I can't stand , and that's greed, especially when those people flaunt their wealth in front of others and sneer at those who oppose their methods. I can't wait until the whole PPV experiment crashes and burns, and it WILL do. You only have to look at why it failed previously when FW couldn't supply the quality fights and folk switched off. SKY have a deal with Matchroom, and nobody else. Eddie Hearn is in a corner. He MUST continue to attract the best fighters and negotiate the best fights. When he starts to struggle because the top fighters will have other options ( BT Sport/ BoxNtn, ITV etc) then it will begin to implode. I can't wait!
With BT capturing the Champions League and the downturn in viewing figures SKY must obviously have concerns ( as should the Premiership owners), which partially explains the increase in PPV boxing shows, after all, the revenue gap has got to be plugged somehow. I would safely predict further increases in the numbers of PPV events over the next few years, which will effect my ability to watch live boxing because I simply refuse to pay ANYTHING extra via the PPV route no matter whose fighting. But maybe I'll just have to join the young brigade and go for live streaming ( whatever that is !!! ).
There's one vice I can't stand , and that's greed, especially when those people flaunt their wealth in front of others and sneer at those who oppose their methods. I can't wait until the whole PPV experiment crashes and burns, and it WILL do. You only have to look at why it failed previously when FW couldn't supply the quality fights and folk switched off. SKY have a deal with Matchroom, and nobody else. Eddie Hearn is in a corner. He MUST continue to attract the best fighters and negotiate the best fights. When he starts to struggle because the top fighters will have other options ( BT Sport/ BoxNtn, ITV etc) then it will begin to implode. I can't wait!