While the 6.5 million PPV buys boasted by Dana White may be premature, the PPV buys for this past Saturday’s Mayweather-McGregor fight may draw closer to the North American record of 4.6 million PPV buys earned by Mayweather-Pacquiao.
According to Showtime executive Stephen Espinoza, the event was a “massive financial success.” If it doesn’t break the record, it will come close according to Espinoza. CBS Corp.’s estimates have the fight drawing more than 4.5 million buys and could be closer to 5 million once all buys are calculated by next week.
The $99.95 price tag would calculate to approximately $450 million and perhaps $500 million if it hits 5 million PPV buys. According to a Wall Street Journal article, the percentage that the cable and satellite operators may take are closer to taking closer to 40% of the revenue as opposed to the standard 50%. The same thing occurred with the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight.
Notably, Espinoza states that the technical issues were “over-exaggerated.”
Payout Perspective:
Maybe the 6.5 million buys White was talking about was worldwide and not just North America. The results are astounding and a “massive financial success” almost seems like an understatement. The PPV buys reflect the great marketing behind this fight and the star power of Mayweather and McGregor. Interesting comment from Espinoza minimizing the technical issues on Saturday.
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