Hatton-Pacquiao PPV sales disappoint...under 650K US buys.

[QUISQUEYA]

A question from a long time BS non-poster member ( whatever that means). If the sale figures are indeed 600+K for two non-us boxers is that a good or a bad thing for the sport?

Are Pacquiao and hatton REALLY "non-US boxers"? They are foreign nationals, but where ELSE have they really fought?

Hatton: 4/5 of his last fights in the US.
Manny: last five in the US

(without checking)

[HatreD]

That is beside the point. My point is why argue about PPV numbers when boxing in general is being discussed more and more mainstream.
Both had the chance to shine with the biggest draw in boxing in Oscar. Pac made the most out of the chance compared to Money. Pac had the mainstream media buzzing. With the recent performance against Hatton, Pac star status launched a bit further. Both fighters should get a 50/50 split if their match do they take place. I'll take PBF by UD by the way

[Obusv477]

I understand your point. It just is not the way business works.

1) Regarding seeing the Pac/hatton posters everywhere, I fully agree. if you read my previous post, i referred to the increased marketing budget for this fight. That reinforces my point. the greater the initial upfront investment, the greater the expected buy volume. That is why they were "hoping" but not "expecting" a higher buy rate.

2) this is the part that i disagree with. The "drawing power" is BY DEFINITION the numbers. Not popularity. Not talk around the water cooler. Not reputation. Not critical acclaim.

Will Smith is the biggest movie star in the world. He is not the best actor. Feel me? A Will Smith summer blockbuster will exceed the box office for a "Slumdog Millionaire" or a "Benjamin Button". There ws a lot of talk about Slumdog. Very little about Han****. Guess which sold more?

I don't know if you know anything about marketing metrics. There are two components. Brand recognition, and brand regard (popularity and appeal). They are not necessarily linked. Someone can be well-known, but not highly regarded.

You disagree?

Im not in marketing, far be it from me to question your expertise, but here's the little I do know about marketing....first there's a buzz that catches your attention. Plenty of buzz created about this fight no doubt. So lets say before this fight I didnt know who Pac was and chose to forego the fight despite all the marketing. After the fight the additional buzz generated becomes "Brand-name" recognition. The Pacquiao brand is now recognized as well as highly regarded. Pac has become Will-Smith's Han**** and not only that, his given high regard also makes him a Slumdog...all rolled into one (maybe akin to a Will Smith Oscar winning summer blockbuster) It thus follows that the next Pac fight, with me (hypothetically never buying a Pac ppv before),would have me having a more vested interest in buying one now.

Also at its core buying PPV's is a luxury. So I may not know all about how the marketing business works, but I do know given the economic times, businesses that deals with luxury are affected. i.e. Taking a cab home is a luxury here in Newyork....now I try to save money by takin the train home everyday.The taxi business is obviously takin major losses. See where Im gettin at? Most people choose not to buy PPV's if they can get away with it. All things being equal that 600,000 PPVS now if it had been fought in early 2007 I would guess wouldve done...I dunno 800,000 upwards.

My point is Pac's previous PPv numbers is not indicative of his future drawing power...moreso in this particular instance. Whereas he only captured a niche market before....all this press he's getting among the US's major media outlets has now made him a well-known "brand-name".

More buzz=more populariy=(if all things being equal) even higher PPV #s for future fights.

[QUISQUEYA]

Im not in marketing, far be it from me to question your expertise, but here's the little I do know about marketing....first there's a buzz that catches your attention. Plenty of buzz created about this fight no doubt. So lets say before this fight I didnt know who Pac was and chose to forego the fight despite all the marketing. After the fight the additional buzz generated becomes "Brand-name" recognition. The Pacquiao brand is now recognized as well as highly regarded. Pac has become Will-Smith's Han**** and not only that, his given high regard also makes him a Slumdog...all rolled into one (maybe akin to a Will Smith Oscar winning summer blockbuster) It thus follows that the next Pac fight, with me (hypothetically never buying a Pac ppv before),would have me having a more vested interest in buying one now.

Also at its core buying PPV's is a luxury. So I may not know all about how the marketing business works, but I do know given the economic times, businesses that deals with luxury are affected. i.e. Taking a cab home is a luxury here in Newyork....now I try to save money by takin the train home everyday.The taxi business is obviously takin major losses. See where Im gettin at? Most people choose not to buy PPV's if they can get away with it. All things being equal that 600,000 PPVS now if it had been fought in early 2007 I would guess wouldve done...I dunno 800,000 upwards.

My point is Pac's previous PPv numbers is not indicative of his future drawing power...moreso in this particular instance. Whereas he only captured a niche market before....all this press he's getting among the US's major media outlets has now made him a well-known "brand-name".

More buzz=more populariy=(if all things being equal) even higher PPV #s for future fights.

I understand your point. And your logic is on.

However, the problem that boxing has traditionally had is that the fights are far enough apart as to fail to successfully bridge the gaps. Consider that in this short-memory society, Manny Pacquiao will not fight for another five months or so. You are asking a casual fan (hardcore fans don't drive sales to 800K) to remember the performance to the tune of $50. That has not traditionally happened.

Boxing , when done right, captures the public's imagination. Still, think of how few boxers get endorsements. Non-athletic endorsements, that is. Leonard. Tyson. Delahoya. Mayweather. Anybody else? Think of how huge oscar was. And you are still struggling to think of any commercials he was in.

Regarding the economy and its impact on the PPV sales: The indications are that the downward pressure has been minimal. I'm not super-close to that component of the business, but i'm trusting Marc Taffet on this. You just have to market more aggresively. Article excerpt follows:

“Boxing was too high-priced for the average working man before the economy went into the (tank),” Fresch’s friend, Kevin Kern, chimed in. “Now? Forget about it.”

Boxing promoters, though, aren’t as worried as you might think, particularly not those who are hawking pay-per-view battles such as the non-title light heavyweight fight on Saturday in Atlantic City, N.J.’s Boardwalk Hall between WBA-WBC-WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik and future Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins.

On the surface it might seem unlikely that many folks would drop $49.95 for a pay-per-view telecast of a boxing match when they’re failing to pay their mortgages, when they’ve lost 35 percent or more of their retirements because of the recent market collapses and are now faced with mounting credit card debts.

But people seek entertainment in even the darkest economic times and pay-per-view often turns out to be a cheap form of entertainment, said Mark Taffet, the president of HBO Pay-Per-View. Taffet said studies have shown that, on average, five to seven people share the cost of a pay-per-view fight.

[FLYBOY]

whats the source to the numbers? or did u just pull the numbers out of your ass?

[QUISQUEYA]

That is beside the point. My point is why argue about PPV numbers when boxing in general is being discussed more and more mainstream.
Both had the chance to shine with the biggest draw in boxing in Oscar. Pac made the most out of the chance compared to Money. Pac had the mainstream media buzzing. With the recent performance against Hatton, Pac star status launched a bit further. Both fighters should get a 50/50 split if their match do they take place. I'll take PBF by UD by the way

I don't worry about the purse splits because i have seen, um, zero of that money.

I do care about the money to the extent that a small gap sometimes kills the fight. I remember how Pavlik/Williams, a fight I had a boner for, fell apart because of a measly $300K.

Yes, Pac's star is definitely on the rise.

[Fenom]

650k aint dissapointing.

true

it is when you're hyping manny as the "next dlh" and ****, by saying he deserves 65% no matter who's in the other corner.....

also true

[pesticid]

Dios knows his ****t about marketing and numbers, but Pacman can't draw on his own at all.

Marquez, Morales, Barrera, DLH and now Hatton - very nice
Diaz, Solis and Larios - not so much (he might have had 100k with Diaz)

The only fighters that can draw on their own are DLH, Tyson and Tito.

[Pullcounter]

whats the source to the numbers? or did u just pull the numbers out of your ass?

yeah biches where's the link?

[AntonTheMeh]

i hate you father****ers.you dudes talk about this **** like you're getting anyuthing from that.who gives a ****? none of you are leonard ellerbe.