That's the same thought I had, that really we were looking at two genuine PPV headliners, Whyte and Usyk, matched with two guys who really, by this stage of their careers, have no business topping a PPV card. If Chisora and Povetkin are happy to carry on then fine, but they really belong fighting each other as chief support to Whyte and Usyk. That's a PPV a lot more people could've got behind. Instead we get two sub standard match ups at twice the price.
It's not the cost that's the real issue, it's the inconvenience and way sports fans are treated. It's 2020 and if you want to watch Premier League footy you can pay for Sky, BT and Amazon, and they still won't show games that are 3pm kick off. If you want to follow British boxers you need Sky and BT, and if any boxer becomes a bit popular they are chucked straight on PPV. And they don't even need to be popular because of their achievements in the ring. You better also have your alarm clock ready for any fighter who can make a few quid in the US. I've had Sky and BT sports for years, paid for a lot of the PPVs, but now I think things have gone too far and I'm voting with my feet. Thankfully there are now some very reliable alternative means to watch all this stuff. Hopefully if enough people do the same the powers that be will get the message, and sport viewing can go the way films and music have with Netflix and Spotify, i.e. the service is that good you'd be daft not to pay for it.
Produce a list of PPV headline fights and let me know for each your entertainment ranking out of 10. For every Tony Dosh PPV v Klit there are at least 5 Brook v Gavins mate
Just stream it, they make enough money from advertising, it's just that certain figures and their people command quite frankly bonkers fees for getting in a ring and punching someone to avoid having to work like most of us. Nobody needs 40, 50, 60m, it's f**king ridiculous. I know it's a risky sport but so is underwater welding to name but one job. Greed ultimately ruins everything.
I don't like the way the coverage of sport in the UK has gone over the last 10 years either - more fragmented and costly than ever before because of BT, Sky's greed and the emerging legal streams that show sport. It's why I cancelled BT and Sky Sports 2 years ago (back with Sky Sports now after they offered me to resubscribe for £5 a week). And trust me a small minority of sensible fans boycotting PPV and high sub prices won't make **** all difference to the bigger picture. I've seen and personally interacted with the mugs who order all the Mismatchroom PPV's - Saturday night pissed and singing a song with the name Charles in it's title, believe me those types are not going to see sense. Some half baked Sky Sports News propaganda, fake needle, Eddie hyperbole and a shove at the press conference and they'll be ordering The Fast One's latest big night out.
The days are already numbered for the traditional Sky package. They've already switched to allowing subscribers to choose which sports they can watch, getting rid of Sky Sports 1,2,3 etc. And then there's Now TV. Just saw an offer today where if you buy a one day Sports pass, you get 5 months Sky Sports mobile: https://www.digitalspy.com/tech/a30860602/now-tv-5-month-sky-sports-mobile-pass-free/ None of it is enough though. And I can only see the PPV bubble bursting again. Too much of it is based around Joshua, and Hearn's greed will catch up to them (it already almost did). People will also wise up to some of the circus events like Mayweather Mcgregor, Haye vs Bellew, Logan Paul etc. I include the 'mugs' in that statement as well. People will only swallow so much bull****, it needs to feel like they are watching a proper sport, something I think some promoters are losing sight of.
How much are they all going to be? I’m guessing £25 will be the norm now after Fury Wilder. I don’t care about the prices in America. I know most can afford it but that is a rip off even for a great card. It’s getting ridiculous. Does anybody think about the people who can’t afford it either, who work and are still counting every penny. There are millions of them. I’ll say it again, it’s a very working class sport but Eddie the **** has made it instagram cool and now many proper fans from decades ago are priced out.
You can’t say Hearn is pricing people out if loads more people are buying it though. It’s a bit like football fans saying it used to be two quid a ticket and the ground had twenty thousand in. These days they complain they’re priced out because a ticket costs upwards of sixty pounds but ultimately the ground is full. Once again, why is it greedy? As soon as anyone is earning more than enough to live on greed comes into view. Do you think Warren was putting Khan Salita and Audley Rogan on PPV a decade ago as a favour to the working class fans?
The grounds are full of gobshite Johnny come lately daytrippers. Obviously this is good for the business of the clubs but Nobody will ever convince me it’s good for fans. Same with boxing, there’s plenty buying because he’s changed the demographic but it’s left behind many proper fans as I said up there. I didn’t say it was greedy.
Won't be paying for any of them. Will be illegally streaming. Take that up ya matchroom/sky/DAZN you ****$
You don’t get grounds full of day trippers though. That’s just cliched nonsense. Yes you get some but it’s really not the case for everyone. Yes some poor fans will be priced out, but that doesn’t mean people who can afford it aren’t ‘proper fans.’
I don’t recall, but I’m not bothered either way. They’re just useful examples of why the whole ‘Hearn has started ripping off fans’ is nonsense. Terrible PPV fights have existed for ages and were happening long before Eddie Hearn was involved in boxing.
The facts are that whatever the PPV Bi's are next week, there will be at least 5 times the number of people watching this fight on non PPV. The relentless advances in technology render PPV obsolete for people who don't want to pay but watch anyway. It takes months to stop streaming websites but seconds for another 50 to pop up - stopping it is the equivalent of attempting to urinate into a very strong wind without smelling of pee.
