EXCLUSIVE: Showtime is breaking new ground by offering pay-per-view access to the December 1 heavyweight fight between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury directly through the Showtime app.
The app, which is available via Apple mobile and AppleTV devices as well as Amazon Fire TV, Android and via MVPD providers, has never before offered boxing matches directly. It’s a lucrative category for the premium network, with the Wilder-Fury fight going for $74.99 per stream regardless of whether the customer has a Showtime subscription.
The December 1 match between the undefeated fighters at LA’s Staples Center is being described as the biggest heavyweight bought since 2002. The heavyweight division, which has long been diminished compared with its Ali/Tyson heyday, has generally not previously had the caliber and quantity of fighters to create robust competition.
Those paying for the fight who have never been Showtime subscribers will receive a 30-day free trial offer. A monthly subscription to the streaming service goes for $10.99.
In addition to streaming it on the app or ordering it through traditional pay-TV channels, fans can also catch the Wilder-Fury fight through Fathom Events in movie theaters and at select bars and restaurants nationwide. Showtime plans to continue to rolling out pay-per-view capabilities on additional streaming devices in time for its next major event: Senator Manny Pacquiao’s bout against Adrien Broner on January 19.
Pacquiao has been involved in some of the sports biggest pay-per-view paydays. His fight against Floyd Mayweather in May 2015 generated 4.6 million PPV buys and more $400 million in revenue, split between Showtime parent CBS and HBO’s then-parent Time Warner. HBO recently decided to leave the boxing scene after 45 years broadcasting the sport, with John Skipper-led upstart DAZN stepping in to try to compete with Showtime in the squared circle.
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