Please don't subscribe to ESPN+/DAZN/etc (or even use free trials)

entrepreneurship implies some new innovation, or unserved market, this looks like a cash grab cutting out the middleman hbo showtime espn, and creating a new bill for fans to pay.

 

Huh? I watch ESPN+, YouTube, CBS, Netflix and many othet networks via apps on my 60" TV.

Regular TV and Cable TV will be as worthless as telephone Landlines.

 

What really gripes me is, I pay an extra $65.00 a month to get a high def signal broadcast, then have to pay an extra $10.00 to get a PPV in high def. For this reason alone, I will not pay for ESPN+. I will however pay for the PPV! Suckas know my weak spot! LOL

 

Exactly. The big beautiful display will always have demand. The evolution is occurring with the content providers.

 

I think cable will die out. As in the technology. Streaming will adapt and TVs will remain.
They are such a strong cultural icons anyways.

 

I wipe my butt with $100 bills, but I will NOT pay for PVP events.

Boxing going to be like going to the opera. You'll have to wear a top hat and tails.

 

Yup. My TV is pretty much a giant tablet.

 

Random thoughts ... Living in N E Asia for a decade or so I appreciate the vast population in this part of the world that has the potential to grow the sport ... and also a potential to provide an audience and revenue not just for top tier boxers/teams, but also solid journeymen and dedicated second tier players who deserve to be rewarded for their efforts. Down the track some of that same population might also shift from following boxing into participating.

The US is the US and I don't know that region well. But in an East Asian context - IMO the OP is right. Potential future boxing followers/participants, say from the huge Chinese population base (and it is huge), are not likely to come from the more limited demographic of financially secure relatively cashed up individuals, they're probably going to come from around or below the middle class watermark. In N E Asia, without inexpensive access to the sport there won't be much growth in new followers and therefore much local talent emerging, which means there won't be local boxers attracting a profile to spur growth further, which then means overseas import fighters will have less to work with. I do know that in the US soccer is a somewhat exclusive expensive sport and the participation rate and therefore the quality of the sport in the country suffers accordingly. A similar dynamic is playing out with a different sport.

For boxing to take off somewhere like China, it's going to have to follow a low cost accessibility model, because as the OP alludes to ... the sport itself is essentially geared to a low income (male) demographic base which traditionally has been in the position to settle their differences with a physical altercation rather than calls to their respective legal representatives. The point is that for N E Asia there's likely a price point for the end boxing product which reflects the position of the key demographic in its market, and which will determine whether the sport grows or stagnates. I think the OP is making a similar point that in the US and elsewhere, if costs become excessive traditional followers/participants will start dropping off, and regardless of any short term gains some media companies might make, long term the sport goes from being semi-mainstream to a niche sport for a limited fan base.

I don't actually see the socialism alignment in that argument ??? Perhaps the opposite. Personally, I have a regular good income, as does my wife. And while I'd pay what-ever-it-takes for usyk gassiev, I'm not going to pay much for media I'm interested in but not really really interested in. We have our home pay TV service with about 300 channels + I've got subscriptions to various financial and other media behind paywalls, not to mention a mortgage and other everyday stuff I need to fund. + limited free time a lot of the time. I'm only going to fork out extra funds on top of that if I'm tempted by a good deal for something good.

I think most people on this forum think that the more people who engage boxing, the better. But outside of some hardcore fans, the cost of access is a factor and the OP is right to bring this up.

 

I would gladly subscribe to ESPN+ or DAZN (but they are not available in my country)... Watching boxing fights live is so much better than watching them on youtube (if somebody, thanks god, uploads them there). And what are the alternatives for a boxing fan? Illegal streams? That's like stealing... It's a moral dilemma for anyone — do I choose to steal for 5/10/15 bucks a month or not?

 

DAZN is the future in America if Americans allow it in. If they dont they will continue to be ripped off with 100 Dollar PPVs,. Eddie Hearn has seen that and has looked to step in and is trying to give you the same quality at half the price. But he needs Boxers to help him do it and he needs the fans to help him do it. It has to be built and it just seems America doesnt want to help. They would rather see a Limey fail.

 

Great thread. These greedy ESPN bitches are trying to charge for events that were free before. They already get the revenue from commercials and cable subscriptions. They used to show the French Open tennis, no more of that, Wimbledon used to be free coverage online, now most matches were on ESPN+. I know it's only 5 bucks but it's the principle. If we let them get away with it, they will keep charging and increasing the prices.