It’s been a month since the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight and we’ve been waiting to learn if the fight broke pay-per-view records. BoxingScene reports that the fight will generate 4.4 million buys. While that’s a fantastic number, the second-highest ever for a boxing event, it still falls short of the Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao bout in 2015. That fight was purchased by 4.6 million customers.
Some observers, including UFC president Dana White, felt that Mayweather-McGregor would reach or even surpass 5 million buys, but that apparently will not be the case.
Piracy through a variety of live and illegal streaming apps, including Facebook Live and Periscope, definitely ate into the final numbers. With a price of around $100, many felt that was too expensive. But even with that in mind, both Showtime and UFC feel the Mayweather-McGregor event was a success.
Showtime Sports president Stephen Espinoza did say that Mayweather-McGregor would come “very, very close” to breaking the Mayweather-Pacquiao record. That appears that it won’t happen. The fight also couldn’t top the live gate of Mayweather-Pacquiao, but the $55.4 million generated is still the second-highest ever. When all is said and done, it could even surpass the overall revenue for Mayweather-Pacquiao, thanks to the international PPV buys and other money generated.
But even if the event didn’t set a record, no one is going to call it a failure for “only” drawing 4.4 million in buys.
About Ken Fang
Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.
He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.
Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.