Back in 2015, the first Mayweather and Pacquiao meeting pulled in 4.6 million U.S. buys and cleared $600 million globally. At that time, both were active titleholders at their peak. A decade later, they are both in their late forties. Mayweather has focused on exhibitions lately, while Pacquiao has stayed active only in spots, most recently fighting to a majority draw with Mario Barrios for a WBC title last summer.
The rematch is being billed as an official professional contest, meaning Mayweather’s 50-0 record will be on the line at age 49. Even with that added competitive element, the event is not being placed behind a traditional $80 or $90 pay-per-view price tag.
Moving back to pay-per-view would take a lot of faith that the 2015 audience would show up again at those high prices. The old model puts every fight under a microscope because those buy-rate numbers are public. If the numbers are soft, it hurts a fighter’s future leverage. Switching to Netflix takes that pressure away. The viewership data stays private, and the money comes from a guaranteed rights fee rather than counting every individual sale.
The pay-per-view market has contracted lately, as fewer events hit the massive buy numbers of the past. While prices have climbed, fans have increasingly moved toward subscription services. For veteran stars returning after years away from the title picture, the risk of a low buy rate is much harder to justify than it was ten years ago.
This will be the first professional boxing card at The Sphere in Las Vegas, making the venue a major part of the draw. That kind of spectacle works better on a subscription service than it does as a risky pay-per-view gamble.
The names still have massive pull. Moving to a new platform shows the industry knows the business model from ten years ago won’t work the same way today.
