DAZN Falls Back On Promise To Eliminate PPVs

Canelo’s Next Two Fights Will Air On DAZN but With A Catch

dazn

For boxing fans around the world, a Canelo Alvarez title fight is as exciting as it gets. The 31-year-old Mexican fighter has been crowned the pound-for-pound champion by just about every ranking and is seen as the face of boxing. Last year, after knocking out Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant, Canelo became the first-ever boxer to unify the Super Middleweight division. This year, he plans on moving up to light heavyweight for the second time in his career to try and reclaim the title while also making plans for a blockbuster trilogy fight with Gennady Golovkin. As long as he keeps being as dominant as he has been, it’s safe to say that Canelo’s stock will only continue to rise.

This is why boxing fans we’re thrilled to hear that Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing signed a 2-fight deal worth over $100m with Canelo’s management. Matchroom Boxing regularly partners with DAZN to host the fights on their sports streaming platform that has tried to redesign the way North Americans consume sports by eliminating the pay-per-view model.

It all started in 2019 when DAZN posted a video on their social media pages of the famous scene from the 1999 film “Office Space” where workers beat up a printer from their office. They photoshopped Canelo’s face onto a worker’s face and added “PPV” on top of the printer, implying that there would no longer be pay-per-view events involving Canelo. This was done after Canelo signed a historic 11-fight deal with Golden Boy Promotions and DAZN. The video went viral and many boxing fans were thrilled to hear the news that they no longer had to pay $100 to see the star in action. Unfortunately, the deal only lasted three fights before Canelo sued Golden Boy Promotions and DAZN in order to get out of his agreement and fight under other promotions. Although they lost their superstar, DAZN stuck to their decision and continued to stream other high-awareness boxing fights without pay-per-views.

Fast forward to last week and that decision has finally been reversed. It seemed like the only way for Canelo to rejoin DAZN was if they were to have his fights sold as pay-per-views, a decision that obviously increases the amount that he’ll take home from his two-fight contract. After recording losses of over $1 billion in the pandemic, DAZN couldn't afford to lose the face of boxing once again. The return of pay-per-view on DAZN brings up an important question for combat sports fans: will we ever see a post pay-per-view world? Do promotions like the UFC, Golden Boy Promotions, Matchroom Boxing, and Top Rank Inc. really expect consumers to keep spending over $80? DAZN proved that eliminating the pay-per-view model is a lot tougher than expected and may take time for promoters, managers, and athletes to get used to. Combined with the ever-increasing issue of illegal streaming, promoters must find a sustainable way to sell fights without bankrupting fans.

Unfortunately, it seems like pay-per-view events are not going anywhere anytime soon, at least for cash-cows like Canelo Alvarez, Tyson Fury, and the UFC.

Published: March 4, 2022 - Issue 28 of The Sport Marketeer