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‘Make Pay-Per-View Access to Boxing Events Free to Fight Piracy’
Sports piracy has been on the rise and pay-per-view events, in particular, are widely accessed through illegal channels. Turki Alalshikh, an advisor at the Royal Court in Saudi Arabia, made a suggestion this week to drastically reduce PPV pricing to cut piracy. American boxer Chris Algieri has an even more drastic idea: "Make it free," he says. UFC CEO Dana White, meanwhile, sees more mileage in prosecuting pirates.
In recent years, rightsholders of major sports events have repeatedly complained that piracy of live sports is rising through the roof.
They’ve called on lawmakers to tighten legislation and urged law enforcement to take the problem much more seriously.
Last month, U.S. authorities took action by seizing several domain names of sports streaming site Streameast, which has millions of monthly users. The seizures were carried out by the book but didn’t achieve the desired effect, as Streameast remains available through alternative domains.
According to the site’s operators, it won’t stop until sports streaming is more affordable to the public. The sweet spot is unknown, but price reduction plans are being openly discussed.
Affordable Sports Streaming
A few weeks ago, sports streaming services in Greece significantly reduced their bundle prices in an attempt to combat piracy. The decision resulted in many happy consumers who now feel that they’re getting their money’s worth.
Similar initiatives have started to surface elsewhere too. For example, Turki Alalshikh a member of the Saudi Royal Court and the driving force behind many large boxing events taking place in Saudi Arabia, called for lower PPV prices this week.
Speaking with TalkSport, His Excellency suggested that high prices drive people to pirate sites and services, which is ultimately bad for the sport.
“I dream of a PPV with a good price to make the fans happy and subscribe and get them to watch it legally. Usually when I see a high PPV, a lot of people go and watch the fight illegally and this is not healthy for boxing and the platform,” Alalshikh said.
The solution is simple. Alalshikh will try to make the prime fighting events in Saudi Arabia during the Riyadh Season available for £20 in England and less than $20 around the world.
“If I give the fans good fights at a good price then I will increase the fanbase,” Alalshikh explained.
Make It Free!
While these drastic price reductions would be a major step, some want to go even further. This includes American boxer Chris Algieri, who has a suggestion that will appeal to even the most hardcore pirates.
The boxer and former kickboxer appeared on Probox TV, discussing a price reduction plan proposed by Alalshikh. According to Algieri, $20 might still be a hurdle for many people, so it makes more sense to go all the way and offer access to PPV events for free.
“I don’t know if it’s a way to fight the piracy because $20 is still $20. If you’re going to steal it, free is better than $20,” Algieri said. “Just make it free,” he added.
In theory, $20 per viewer could bring in more revenue per event than $40, if the total number of viewers more than doubled. However, offering access to streams without charge is not really a sustainable business model.
Algieri is aware of this and doesn’t propose to make fights free forever. Instead, he sees it as a temporary measure to build the sports fanbase. After that, events can start to charge again.
For now, free PPV events is likely a step too far for organizers. Algieri believes that the proposed price reductions would be a good start, and he is curious to see if that would disproportionately increase the number of viewers.
“I do like the idea, that it’s allowing fight fans to watch their favorite fighters at a price tag that’s not exorbitant, that’s not keeping them from being able to watch their favorite fighters,” Algieri said.
Dana White and ‘Streameast’ Enter the Octagon
While price reductions are music to the ears of boxing fans, not everyone agrees. UFC CEO Dana White, for example, told reporters on Tuesday that he sees more benefit in an offensive approach, by going after pirates in court.
“I won’t tell you extensively what we do every event, but we go after piracy hard and you saw a few years ago we started prosecuting people,” White said. “That’s how you combat piracy. Start f*cking prosecuting people for stealing.”
White’s aggressive tone towards pirates isn’t new; similar threats have been made in the past.
Joshua vs Dubois will be available for £19.95 in the UK, with prices elsewhere yet to be officially confirmed. As far as we know, however, UFC hasn’t taken any action against people who consume pirated streams, yet.
That said, White’s fighting words may be sufficient for some not to try the ‘pirate’ alternatives, including the previously mentioned streaming platform Streameast. For some, Dana’s stance on piracy is a form of entertainment in its own right.
A comment from ACD MMA on X about the rivalry triggered a response from the ‘Streameast News Network’, which is unrelated to the Streameast site.
“He’s desperate. Making up lies praying it scares away a few hundred people from clicking the link,” the unofficial Streameast account replied.
Some news sites confused this reply for a message from the actual Streameast service, making matters even more messy. Streameast hasn’t officially commented on White’s comments, or the price reductions, as far as we know. That said, they can surely get behind Algieri’s suggestion to make PPV streams free.
