Here's an absolutely free 12-round pay-per-view primer in advance of Saturday night's Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey welterweight title fight at Cowboys Stadium, available on HBO Pay-Per-View at the suggested retail price of $49.95:
1
HBO pioneered national pay-per-view in 1991 with an Evander Holyfield-George Foreman heavyweight championship bout from Atlantic City, N.J. Although the fight was available in only 15 million homes, it generated 1.45 million buys at $35.95. It remains the fifth-most purchased fight in boxing history. The 8 percent buy rate may never be equaled.
2
Anyone who bought that fight had to go to their cable distributor and pick up a special receiver box that had to be returned the next week. How 1990s.
3
Today, pay-per-view is available in 40 million cable homes, 30 million satellite homes and 5 million teleco homes supplied by the likes of Verizon Fios and AT&T U-Verse.
4
Major fights left free television before pay-per-view became available in homes. Fights were shown in bars, arenas and theaters on closed circuit, big-screen televisions. The pictures were often blurred, and the beer was expensive.
5
Mark Taffet, the president of HBO P-P-V, wrote the original business plan for the cable network, which christened the experiment TVKO. He will be at Cowboys Stadium to oversee Saturday night's presentation. "Economics and technology created the opportunity," Taffet says. "You can't stop technology."
6
Taffet says research shows that on average, pay-per-view boxing attracts five to eight viewers per household. Cheaper than going out to the movies.
7
The Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jr. welterweight title bout in May 2007 is the reigning heavyweight champion of pay-per-view. It attracted 2.4 million buys and grossed $134.4 million in revenue.
8
Mike Tyson was pay-per-view's heavyweight star, appearing in three of the top five offerings.
9
Pacquiao has succeeded De La Hoya as the pay-per-view champion. The business was worried when Pacquiao retired De La Hoya in a fight that drew 1.25 million buys. Pacquiao's last two fights, however, have averaged 1 million buys. A Pacquiao-Mayweather match could have challenged the record of 2.4 million.
10
California and Texas lead the nation in buys for Pacquiao fights. The two states are perennial pay-per-view champions.
11
Taffet says that Cowboys Stadium will help sell Pacquiao-Clottey to some homes. "The stadium is already synonymous with big events. People have heard so much about the stadium it will impact people favorably about the event. . . . We will focus on bringing the stadium to consumers' living rooms," he said.
12
Taffet won't make any predictions about the number of buys for Saturday night's card. But I will. I'll say 600,000, which translates into $30 million. That will send the fighters, promoters and pay-per-view folks home happy.
Top pay-per-view fights
Rk. . . . .Fight .........................................Year .....Number of households
1. Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jr. .....2007 .....2.4 million (HBO)
2. Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson ......................2002 .....1.98 million (HBO/Showtime)
2. Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson II ..............1997 .....1.98 million (Showtime)
4. Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson I ...............1996 .....1.59 million (Showtime)
5. Evander Holyfield-George Foreman ............1991 ....1.45 million (HBO)
6. Oscar De La Hoya-Felix Trinidad ...............1999 ....1.40 million (HBO)
7. Mike Tyson-Peter McNeeley ......................1995 ....1.35 million (Showtime)
8. Oscar De La Hoya-Manny Pacquiao .............2008 ....1.25 million (HBO)
8. Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto ....................2009.....1.25 million (HBO)
10. Evander Holyfield-Lennox Lewis I .............1999.....1.20 million (HBO)
Final Four finale?
This could be the CBS swan song as the home of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, which tips off next week. The NCAA and CBS are in the tail end of their 11-year, $6 billion contract that allows the home of student athletes to bow out of the final three years of the deal. The Final Fours of 2011, 2012, 2013 and beyond could be up for bid.
Of course, CBS wasn't all that naive when it agreed to the current deal. The contract is back loaded, which means payments have not been equal all years. The final three years are worth a hefty $2.1 billion to the NCAA.
Still, you can be sure that the NCAA will examine opting out to see just how much cable money ESPN would be willing to put up. Of course, CBS can get in on the bidding as well. It likely will need a cable partner to make a new deal work financially. That would be Turner Sports.
A new, more expensive TV contract likely guarantees an expanded field. A tournament with 96 teams means more games, which translates into more programming for television. Rest assured, if the NCAA jumps to another network, unlike student athletes who transfer, the money-making tournament will not have to sit out a season.
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