HBO Partners with Showtime for the Mayweather-Pacquiao Fight
Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao will finally meet on May 2 in a welterweight showdown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas that will likely break every financial record, and make both boxers richer than ever. Mayweather could earn $120 million or more, while Pacquiao's split of the purse will likely be around $80 million according to Fox Sports.
Interestingly, the event also marks a rare revenue sharing collaboration between HBO and Showtime. The two pay cable networks are partnering on a rare pay-per-view split for the event, said The Hollywood Reporter. HBO Sports president Ken Hershman told the entertainment news site: ""We each have our businesses to run, and we're going to continue to compete the way we do, but if something of this magnitude presents itself, and we can collaborate in this way, we will. It doesn't always work out, but this time it did." For the other side, Showtime Sports EVP and GM Stephen Espinoza admitted: "Every side of this negotiation bore some of the pain, and that's how it got done." CBS-owned Showtime and CBS Corp. president and CEO Leslie Moonves was reportedly also intimately involved in the negotiations with HBO.
Of course, the rewards will likely be incredible, observed The Hollywood Reporter. The highest-grossing pay-per-view boxing match to date is Showtime's 2013 showdown between Mayweather and Saul Alvarez, which took in $150 million viewers with total fight revenues closer to $200 million including sponsorships, international TV rights and a blockbuster $20 million gate. Expectedly, the viewing fee is going to be higher than the average pay-per-view fight, likely $89.95 higher for high-def said the entertainment news provider.
The Mayweather-Pacquiao Fight deal has been in the making for the last five years. It finally came together in recent months with both fighters putting aside past differences to reach an agreement. Mayweather himself announced the upcoming historic bout Friday, telling fans: "I promised the fans we would get this done and we did." Pacquiao in a statement said: "It is an honor to be part of this historic event. I dedicate this fight to all the fans who willed this fight to happen and, as always, to bring glory to the Philippines and my fellow Filipinos around the world."