Really surprised Hearn didn’t want this fight. A P4P top 3 fighter...and Terence Crawford It’s a pretty decent card though.
I doubt this is costing too much in production costs/rights fees. It won’t do very many buys but BT should at least break even.
Why are so many people banging on about 4AM/5AM? The fight is in NYC. Khan will be in the ring at 2:30 / 3.00, that should help the buy rate.
Sky couldn’t do it as PPV as they will not want to oversaturate the PPV market they have Joshua on US time a month later and will not want to do two in a row. If BT we’re looking to put another 4 PPV on this year making this one also reflects badly. However as I expect to be the case now with Fury going to the US and Warrington vs Galahad on normal BT they don’t have many PPVs planned this year and will rely on the likes of this for their PPV offering. I can’t stay up for this when I know Khan will be flatlined in 5 rounds.
Doesn’t matter whether it’s east or west coast, it’s when the US network wants it to start that matters. This is an ESPN PPV, so presuming it starts at the usual time of 2am with a three fight undercard, it’ll be no earlier than 4.30, more likely 5am.
I buy most PPVs, grudgingly, a lot of the time but this one is a step too far I think. I can't believe they've actually put this on PPV here. Khan hasn't had a meaningful win in 4 years, the result is a foregone conclusion, Khan is getting flattened, and the fight is on in the wee hours of the morning. I don't think I'll be buying this one. What fights are on the undercard for this? Lopez vs Tatli is decent to be fair. Any other fights confirmed yet?
Has anyone ever swerved a fight because it was due to start at 4am but would have reconsidered if it were 3am? I doubt it. They're all on 'in the middle of the night' for a UK audience, regardless as to whether they're Pacific or Atlantic.
Sky's PPV model tends to be focussed on truly massive event type fights (Mayweather v Pac/McGregor, all Joshua fights) or domestic top tier stuff. I think Khan Crawford probably falls into a similar bracket to the likes of Fielding Canelo and Crolla Lomachenko. Khan is better and more popular than those two, but by the same token Canelo is more well known as an opponent for example, plus they're on at stupid o'clock. BT figures weren't released for Wilder Fury suggesting they were terrible. This seems a little desperate in truth.