Fury vs Wilder did 450k buys on BT Sport PPV

125k UK subs? I have to say that circa 100-150k was what I was expecting. I don't think this would've been bad either considering BT Sport are only just putting their toes in the PPV water and Fury's showing in the prior two fights being so underwhelming. Also consider an estimated 1m unauthorised streams http://www.sportspromedia.com/news/wilder-fury-10m-illegal-viewers-piracy and those who, like me, tuned in to BBC Radio. All of which means if they really did sell 450k it's a big achievement....

 

450k would be staggeringly impressive.

My issue is that the source for this just seems to be Fury himself. The same man who I think it's fair to say has been economical with the truth from time to time. And if Tyson Fury told me that his fight had outsold Lewis Holyfield and Froch Groves II I don't think I'd believe him on his word alone. Just from personal experience but those fights seemed to have everyone talking about them. Wilder Fury didn't seem remotely on the same level.

 

Lewis/Holyfield was twenty years ago. Bloody hell, strange comparison.

Froch/Groves 1 was not a blockbuster. It was a solid PPV that created a blockbuster. Beating Froch/Groves 1 numbers is no miracle and it's another strange comparison from you. What exactly is your point?

Sky had nothing to do with this PPV, why are you talking about them? You're really going off track here Tony. You appear a little desperate.

I was at the Pianetta fight and honestly, there wasn't a lot of booing. Some casuals ringside hoping for a knockout. Fury was cheered in and out of the ring. The boos are irrelevant to a Deontay Wilder fight and you repeating it every day doesn't make it relevant.

You're really bothered by the succes of this fight, aren't you. Bizarre.

 

If Fury was going to lie about PPV figures, why would he say 450k? That's quite specific. Surely 5/6/700 k would've been a figure used by someone being dishonest.

Also, if Fury/Wilder didn't do well on BT, why on earth would they put Fury/Schwarz on PPV?

Come on lads, use the head a little.

 

Yes @Holler I'd say 125k UK subs is closer to the actual figure. Not saying 450k is a total lie from Fury, just feel maybe he was giving the total from UK and US subs more likely. Is boxing really that more popular in the UK than the Us, that more PPVs were sold here for a fight that happened there!? When you factor in the gross disproportionate population sizes, I'd say it's highly unlikely. Even more so when you factor in the streaming numbers! Now, I'm sure over 2 million UK resident's weren't up at 4 am on a Sunday watching that fight!

 

Fury is getting paid by Arum isn't he?

If Fury Schwarz is expected to bomb and bomb bad, why not put it on PPV if you don't have to foot the bill? Might as well take a few thousand who will pay for it than give it away.

 

I didn't compare it with Froch Groves I. I compared it to Froch Groves II.

If you don't understand the Sky comparison I don't know what to say. Not that it needs spelling out, but Sky Sports News is essentially an advertising station for stuff Sky are showing. So when Froch is fighting Groves that station is bombarding everyone with adverts about it. BT doesn't have anywhere near the same level of coverage.

 

450k for both countries sounds more realistic. Again, not a bad number considering. Surely you expect to see some credible source before accepting anything that Tyson says?

In regards to Fury/Schwarz being PPV, they’ll milk that cow for every penny, even if they don’t expect to sell more than 100k. Can’t knock em, every other promoter is doing it.

 

maybe they are counting the legal youtube stream numbers?! They put the fight up about a week or so after. I watched it with my grandad over christmas!

 

You’re the same guy who quotes what Eddie Hearn says...Are you sure you want to talk about honesty from Fury, when you religiously follow the words of another outright lier like Hearn.

Tyson Fury and Eddie Hearn both come from the same school of salesmanship. You can add fish eyes to that too. But 425K is not suprising. BT advertised the fight through their PL/Champions League games. Face off on the BT Sport youtube channel did 1.2M Views. And BT Sport Box Office is available via the Sky/Virgin Media and EE Platforms

 

How do you know the numbers for Froch-Groves 2 ? Are you Barney Francis/Adam smith ?
Or are you just relying on the internet ?

You don’t know the Froch-Groves 2 numbers.

 

Again, Froch/Groves 2 was just before when the truly big numbers became a regularity in British boxing. The casual audience has grown and grown since then, mainly due to the emergence of AJ on the world scene.

Ironically, it was AJ that created the hype in the heavyweight division that made Fury/Wilder such a success. Sky sports news is absolutely great for promotion and it's sky sports news that made Deontay Wilder a big name in British boxing by giving us daily updates on the AJ/Wilder negotiation debacle. There was huge disappointment when AJ/Wilder fell through. AJ/Wilder would've exceeded two million UK PPV buys no matter what country it was staged. Is it so unbelievable that less than a quarter of those 2+million boxing fans tuned in to see Wilder take on another unbeaten British heavyweight champion in Tyson Fury? Come on man.

BT sport is a powerhouse. They've taken premier league and champions league football from Sky sports. They haven't got the brilliant promotional chanel that is sky sports news but they certainly aren't the amateurs you seem to think they are.

 

I think there's further reasons to make it PPV. They have Warrington Galahad on that night, so they're already maximising ad revenue from boxing fans in primtetime. BT Sport have invested a lot in Fury and so far they've not seen much return for their money. Two **** poor warm up fights and now he looks to be fighting overseas from here on out. They may as well use the audience that the Josh Warrington fight attractts as a base from which to convert as many ppv sales as possible.

They also maintain Fury's status as PPV worthy from here on in, which may not mean much but at least it suggests a certain status. Although there's a risk if the fight is poor that there's some damage to future earnings.

 

Read you post back and you'll get your answer.

 

I think people are forgetting how much buzz there was for this fight. It was in the casual mainstream.

Tyson Fury is a household name in the UK. He could sell out Old Trafford if he wanted to.