The May 2 Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao fight was years in the making, and even though they were both past their prime the pent-up demand to see them finally meet in the ring was expected to produce more pay-per-view purchases than any other fight in history.
And it did. An estimated 4.4 million viewers paid a record price of $89.95 to $99.95 to watch the fight, generating more than $400 million in domestic revenue, Showtime, HBO and the fighters? promoters said Tuesday. The pace of purchases was so great on fight night that the bout was delayed by about a half-hour to process the flurry of late orders.
The total nearly doubled the previous record for boxing pay-per-view buys: 2.48 million, for the Mayweather-Oscar De La Hoya bout in 2007. The revenue also topped the previous record of $152 million, which was generated by Mayweather?s bout with Canelo Alvarez two years ago.
The pay-per-view broadcast produced the biggest portion of the fight?s revenue, which was to be split 60-40 in Mayweather?s favor. Cable companies and satellite providers will receive 30 percent to 40 percent of gross pay-per-view revenue, and a smaller cut (7.5 percent, divided evenly) will go to HBO and Showtime, which co-produced the event.
The rest will go to the fighters. With the pay-per-view revenue alone announced at $418 million, that will ensure that Mayweather and Pacquiao will each make more than $100 million for about an hour?s work.
