The HBO replay of Ward/Kovalev 2 this past Saturday drew 752,000 viewers per Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily. It drew a 0.52 rating in the A18-49 category.
The replay is less than the 834,000 viewers that saw their first fight on HBO last November. We should note that the replay of the first fight was accompanied by a live Vasyl Lomachenko fight.
Payout Perspective:
While replays on HBO due not garner the viewership as live events on the network, comparing the first and second fights reflects less interest in the rematch. From the PPV buy rate being floated around, it seems that this holds true as it looks like the second fight between the two drew less buys than the first. Whether it was the matchup or the lack of interest, I would have expected more based on the very good fight the two put on in 2017.
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