The convenience in watching a pay per view at home has gotten less and less convenient over the past few years. There was a time where you could order a pay per view fight at about 25 dollars and enjoy it in the comfort of your own home. In today's economy the average sporting event will cost twice that amount, they also add a ten dollar high-definition fee if you want to watch it in high-definition. The average customer or fan can spend upwards to seventy to eighty dollars for one pay per view! The idea of closed circuit broadcast is an old one, it was very popular in the eighties before pay per view actually took off. In an effort to increase revenue Floyd Mayweather Jr. has re-established the money making potential of closed circuit viewing. The May 4th bout with Robert "Ghost" Guerrero will be available at local theaters for about a fifteen dollars per ticket. That is more then a fifty percent decrease when compared to ordering from home, it also makes it affordable to those fans who can't afford the pay per view at home. Mayweather has employed this strategy before and has had great success at the theaters, this also offers boxing fans a chance to come together for big fights and talk about other boxers. More promoters should employee this tactic in order to draw in more fans instead of settling with current fans. This could provide a big boost to the sport if used more often and also as Mayweather has shown, add more untapped revenue to each event.
This is a great idea and I have to give Mayweather some serious props. Both my friends and I buy so many pay-per-view boxing and UFC matches and by doing that, wallets empty rather quickly. It is a perfect reflection of inflation in reference to the point of pricing. It has gotten to a point where I usually wait for the next day to find out about fights instead if watching them.
ReplyDeleteLet me stop nagging about that though and get back to this idea of Mayweather's mind. Boxing fans together and all watching the same fight on a big projector for only $15? That is not only a bargain, but also a night that any boxing fan can truly enjoy. With the amount of people there and the great quality of a theater-grade projector and screen, it would feel more like actually being at the fight than watching pay-per-view at home. I agree with you when you mentioned the big boost this could make for the sport of boxing. This is just another way for fans to react and discuss with one another. Great Post.
This is a great post for sports fans. With me not being a huge sports fan this blog would be great for me to be able to get into the know when it comes to sports. Having the fights at the movie theater would be genius because it would be very cost effective as you said and would give the fans a chance to network and connect with other fans as well. It could be a great way to change the way we see the sport viewing as a whole.
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