FILIPINO boxing fans in Bahrain and the rest of the Gulf are eagerly awaiting the rematch between Filipino Manny ‘Pac Man’ Pacquiao and Mexican Erik ‘El Terrible’ Morales tomorrow. But some are upset that they must pay to see the match live on satellite TV.
The Filipino Channel (TFC) is broadcasting the rematch live to subscribers around the world from Las Vegas, US, where the bout begins at 5am Bahrain time.
But subscribers to the satellite channel in Bahrain are angry over the $10 (BD3.780) fee imposed by TFC to watch the rematch.
Subscribers pay BD74 per year for the 24-hour service.
“Why do I have to pay the $10 fee?” asked one Bahrain subscriber, Thomas De Cruz.
“Boxing is one of those games that Filipinos excel at and this is something we should all be proud of.
“Everyone has been looking forward to the Manny Pacquiao rematch and it is all over the TFC and (Philippine) newspapers.”
His friend, Wally Dizon, said he felt that TFC should show the rematch free to subscribers – who already pay a fixed annual fee.
“I don’t know of many Filipinos who are going to pay to watch this live, which is a shame because everyone is really looking forward to it,” he said.
“What will happen is that Filipinos will just look on the Internet for the results when they get up on Sunday morning.”
TFC officials explained that the $10 fee was “only to offset the huge satellite transmission charges and the rights to air (the rematch) live to the Filipinos in the Middle East”.
TFC senior manager Art Los Banos said that in the US, the fight was being offered by licensee HBO for a pay-per-view fee of $44.99 (BD17).
“Here in the Middle East, we are offering it at only $10 because we see this as a service to our subscribers, who are boxing fans and who are very nationalistic,” he said.
The boxing match, dubbed The Battle, is one of the most anticipated fights this year as it brings ‘Pac Man’ and ‘El Terrible’ face-to-face a year after the Filipino hero lost the World Boxing Council International Super Featherweight title to the Mexican, also in Las Vegas.
Morales won by a slim 115-113 margin against Pacquiao in their epic 12-round fight. Both boxers belong to the junior lightweight division and are ranked in the Top Three World Ranking.
