The Floyd Mayweather vs Robert Guerrero fight last month was the first major televised fight of Floyd’s career to not to be aired on HBO.
Mayweather’s six-fight, 30-month deal with Showtme was called the “richest individual athlete deal in all of sports” in a press release.
For that bout, Floyd Mayweather equaled his own all-time base purse record with a guaranteed $32 Million – But the numbers were not as good for the Showtime network who spent a fortune to lure ‘Money May’ from HBO.
We don’t know for sure what the PPV buyrate was but we do know one thing: It was unimpressive… At least versus expectations.
Although it was initially reported the fight garnered one million buys, its now rumored there were only 870,000.
So 870,000 isn’t so bad, right? Answer: Its an excelent buyrate… Unless the main event showcases fighters named Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao.
Compare the alleged buyrate to many of Mayweather and Pacquiao’s fights over the last 6 years. Mayweather vs De La Hoya (2007) 2.4 million Mayweather vs Cotto (2012) 1.5 million Pacquiao vs Marquez 3 (2011) 1.45 million Mayweather vs Mosley (2010) 1.4 million Pacquiao vs Mosley (2011) 1.34 million Mayweather vs Ortiz (2011) 1.25 million Pacquiao vs De La Hoya (2009) 1.25 million Pacquiao vs Marquez 4 (2012) 1.15 million
Guerrero’s Name Cognition or Fans Just Fed Up with Floyd?
Some will insist the disappointing buyrate came as a result of Robert Guerrero being a virtual unknown to casual fans and the masses in general. Others will assert fans are fed up with Floyd and are, in some way, boycotting his fights as a form of protest.
Both assersions, despite possibly having “some” truth, are far from the real reason Mayweather vs Guerrero allegedly tanked at the box office.
Although Robert Guerrero isn’t exactly a household name among casual fans, neither was the name Victor Ortiz yet the latter’s fight with Mayweather in 2011 generated a whopping 1.25 million buys. And as far as fans boycotting Floyd’s fights, they have been threatening to do that for years yet his PPVs sales continued to soar. As a matter of fact, Mayweather vs Cotto (one year earlier) generated a stellar 1.5 million buys – even though many protested the match-up, insisting Cotto was well past his prime.
HBO vs Showtime
So what is the real reason Mayweather vs Guerrero failed to reach PPV buyrate expectations?
It’s easy… According to ratings from Nielsen Media Research last fall, HBO was in 29 million homes, while Showtime only in 21 million. HBO, at least back then, had 28% more subscribers than its rival. Given the survey was less than a year ago, there’s little to suggest the ratio has changed much.
So what difference does it make that HBO has 8 million more subscribers, right?
Answer: Its huge! That means that 8 million fewer homes could order the fight. In order to even be eligible to purchase the fight, someone without Showtime would have had to opt-in to a more expensive cable subscription package that includes ‘Money May’s’ new network.
1.13 to 1.14 Million Buys
All things being equal, had Mayweather vs Guerrero been broadcast on HBO PPV, it would have likely garnered 28% (244,000) more buys thus bringing the tally to 1.13 – 1.14 million (assuming the fight received 870,000 buys). While that’s still probably a little lower than what Showtime had hoped, its a respectable number and certainly a far cry from the disappointing alleged results.
